Dachi
by Osa P
Summary: Kuwabara is Yusuke's closest and most loyal friend. He'd do anything for him and with a smile on his face. What happens when he sets up his best friend to date Keiko? Why isn't he smiling anymore? this summary sux. yusukekeiko, yusukexkuwabara, violence,
1. Part 1

Dachi Part 1  
_Friendship will, time after time, make me recite lines in a play_

Finally, it was time for lunch! Finally he could relax. Finally he could escape the weird glances he'd been receiving all day from his peers. He ran a hand through his slightly mussed, black hair as he walked down the hallway. 'Man', he thought, 'I seriously need to buy some more gel.' He continued walking for a bit longer before pausing near a moderately sized group of girls. The girls were all whispering excitedly to the girl in the center. Every little while a joyous squeal would break the relative silence. In the center of all the hubbub was Keiko.

Yusuke, who had been watching the girls practically fall all over themselves in girlish pleasure, took a step or two closer to the group and raised a hand to wave. All at once all of the girls fell silent and shuffled behind Keiko. There she stood, stock-still, before giving a little wave and blushing madly. After another second or two the girls filled in the gap between the two teens and resumed their conversation.

'Odd. She's never done that before.' Yusuke shrugged and continued on his way. Over the last half a year or so, Yusuke Urameshi had transformed himself from local bully and juvenile delinquent to the local defender of the innocents and a rather upstanding student of Kamikuzu Middle School. Gone were his days of skipping class and disrespecting his elders. Well, that was almost true. He still had his missions with the other members of the Rekai Tentai and those 'elders' who continued to try and ruin his future were still far below gaining any respect from the young half-demon. Otherwise his transformation was quite awe-inspiring.

During this period of transformation, he'd also changed his feelings about a certain someone. He and Kazuma Kuwabara had become the best of friends and never failed to show it. Sure, they still fought at least every other day, but it was more of a show of affection than an act of malice. But fighting wasn't the soul of their relationship. They found that they did have quite a bit in common. Yusuke, in a way, admired Kuwabara. He was far gentler than he could ever have been and his strict honor code made a person wonder how pure a soul could be. The orange haired fighter felt much the same about Yusuke, but for different reasons.

Currently Yusuke was on his way to the rooftop of the school, or ruffian's common hangout, to eat lunch with his best buddy. Yusuke climbed the last stairs before opening the door to his safe haven. The rooftop had always been a place of privacy and it still remained that way. He may have become a better student, but he could still whoop serious ass. He spotted his tall friend over in one corner of the roof next to the railing. He strolled over and sat down next to Kuwabara. No greeting was really needed between the two, for their friendship had grown that much in such a short amount of time. Kuwabara handed his dark headed friend a small boxed lunch before tearing into his own.

As Yusuke opened his own, he grinned. His favorite, fried squid and tofu. A soda was laid down next to his lunch. He grin grew wider. 'Kuwabara sure knows how to please a man', he thought. Yes, Kuwabara did cook lunch for both himself and Yusuke everyday, but it's no surprise since neither his sister nor Yusuke's mother were experts in the kitchen. If you were to tell either of the women that there was more than one brand of soy sauce they would probably have a total sensory overload.

The two best friends ate in silence for a time before Kuwabara spoke. "Yanno Urameshi, people have been spreading rumors about you", Kuwabara said gruffly. Yusuke looked up at hearing his last name. The taller boy could still not bring himself to call the other by his first name.

"So what?", Yusuke replied. "I've had more rumors spread about me in my lifetime than any pop star or super idol. So what's one more?"

Kuwabara grinned. "Yeah, I guess your right, but this isn't just about you this time. It's about you and Keiko."

Yusuke gulped down the last of his meal and took a sip of his soda. "What about me n' Keiko?"

"Well..." Kuwabara took a drink from his bottle of water and took his time swallowing. "Well, they're saying that you two are a couple."

Yusuke stared at his friend before bursting out laughing. Kuwabara looked at him incredulously before having his own small fit of laughter. They laughed together for a few moments before settling down.

Yusuke stood up and leaned against the roof railing. "So all those people down there," he pointed to the school grounds, "think me and the one girl I've known all my life are going out?" Kuwabara remained seated, but nodded. "What a bunch of bullshit. For those kids being so much smarter than me they're really stupid." Another nod. "I mean, it's not like I feel anything special for her or anything. We're good friends, that's all." Nod. "You know what I mean. She and I... well we're just like me and you." Another, more hesitant nod. Yusuke stared down at his friend, noticing the look of deep concentration on his face. He almost looked...pained.

"Well, come on Kuwa! Back to hell!" He playfully jostled the still sitting teen and began to walk towards the stairs.

"Wait, Urameshi."

Yusuke stopped and turned to face his buddy. "Look, Keiko, she's a pretty girl and I'm sure...I'm sure she really does like you." He paused and took a deep breath. "I think you should go out with her." Yusuke stared at him as though he had suggested that he start a cult and be the first one to drink the Kool-aid.

"But, Kuwabara, we're just friends man, just like you and-"

"No, you don't get it do you?" Kuwabara finally stood, his eyes not meeting his friends. "She's a girl and you're a guy, and you've known each other for forever. And your good friends! You said it yourself."

Yusuke was becoming agitated. What the hell was Kuwabara talking about? "So what if were good friends? We're f'in good friends too, but that doesn't mean I wanna date you!" He thought he saw Kuwabara flinch at that last statement. 'Must have been the wind in my eyes.'

Kuwabara sighed. "That's exactly what I'm talking about Urameshi. We can't date, 'cause we're guys yanno?" He'd finally looked up, but his eyes were closed as he smiled. "C'mon! You'll be having fun all the time 'cause it'll be like dating your best pal, but a girl! I can't find any downside to that!" He grinned goofily before walking up to the half-demon. "What do yah say?"

Yusuke looked oddly at his friend as he contemplated the good and bad aspects of dating Keiko. "I guess...sure. Why the hell not? If it doesn't work out we'll still be friends." Kuwabara clapped his friend on the shoulder as a sign of congratulations before getting him into a headlock with that same arm and dragging him, literally, kicking and screaming down the stairs.

* * *

By the end of the school day all old rumors had been dispelled and new ones were being spun as fast as one gossip could speak to another. More rumors flew telling of a furthering in Yusuke's and Keiko's non-existent relationship. The only difference between the earlier rumors that Kuwabara had revealed to Yusuke was that these actually rang true. 

After lunch Yusuke had approached Keiko in the hallway and had officially asked her out, though to most that was quite a leap. The boy hadn't said more than 'I think your a cool chick' and the girl was already anticipating what she was certain would occur. He did eventually say something along the lines of 'will you go out with me?', but only after much fidgeting and floor scuffing. He would've been able to get through it a whole lot easier if Kuwabara had been there with him, but his tall friend had disappeared shortly after dragging him down the stairs.

Yusuke had little time to be worried about his friend, however, because as soon as they were officially going out Keiko took that as incentive to glomp his arm and become a near-permanent fixture for the rest of the day. To say that he was a little overwhelmed was an understatement. He hadn't exactly had an affection filled childhood and fighting was one of the few activities that he participated in that involved touching. He definitely wasn't prepared for the looks of adoration being thrown at him not only from his new girlfriend but the entire student body. It seemed that every female had learned of their current state within mere minutes and now resorted to cooing and blubbering all over the two.

"It's so great that you two are finally together!", yet another of their admirers squealed as they strolled down the hall arm in arm. Yusuke restrained himself from rolling his eyes noticing that Keiko seemed to enjoy the encouragement. She gazed up at him sending him a shy smile. He smiled timidly back.

That look. The look in her eyes was making him significantly uncomfortable. He'd never remembered Keiko looking so frightening before. 'Not that she's scary or ugly or anything', he thought to himself. 'There's just something about that look that freaks me out. Guess it's this whole dating business that's got me riled up.'

They stopped in front of the door that led to their last class of the day: Gym. This was where they'd have to split off and go about the period with members of their own sex. Keiko looked adoringly up at her boyfriend. She stood on her toes and gave him a quick peck on the mouth. It wasn't so much a kiss as it was a chaste touch of the lips, so slight, so shy. Nevertheless, Yusuke was shocked. His wide eyes followed his girlfriend as she entered the girl's locker room.

He felt awkward. Unbalanced. "I have to talk to Kuwabara", he whispered to himself. Yusuke half stumbled into the boy's locker room and walked quickly over to his locker. He bristled at the chorus of 'Ooo's' coming from his peers.

"Nice job out in the hallway Urameshi!", a half-dressed boy called out.

"Yeah," another chimed in, "maybe next time you'll kiss her too!"

The boys in the room broke out into raucous laughter at this. All except for the boy standing next to Yusuke's locker. It was Kuwabara, his dear, good friend and punching bag. His friend was looking at him, an unreadable look on his face. They stared at each other for a moment, the laughter fading to the background. Then as quickly as the moment had begun Kuwabara seemed to snap out of it and grinned slightly at Yusuke.

"You want I should go beat them up boss?", he asked in his best New Yorker accent.

Yusuke smiled at him. "Naw, I can take care of myself." They began to get dressed for class as the laughter died down, having little to no affect on Yusuke. "Hey, Kuwa..." Kuwabara paused in putting on his socks, indicating that he was listening. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Course you can. I'm your freakin' best friend right?"

"Yeah..." Yusuke hesitated. "Umm... so... If-if a friend was like, kinda gonna, umm-" He was cut off by the blowing of a whistle.

"All right ladies, and Urameshi, it's pain time!" groused out a short, but rather buff man. The boys in the locker room groaned. Kuwabara half-chuckled.

"Never calls you a lady. Not since you beat up half the class for making fun of me." Kuwabara smiled at his friend in remembrance.

"Well, they should fucking learn not to call my best buddy a pansy for liking kittens", he growled.

Kuwa's smile faltered a bit, allowing room for a more thoughtful look to cover his face. "I could've taken care of myself..." He stood. Yusuke jumped up and threw an arm around him.

"Can't let you get too ruffed up, man. You've got a future remember college-boy?" Yusuke grinned and the look was returned by his friend.

"Alright, alright. You have a point." They started walking together out to the field. "Now what did you wanna ask me about?" Their conversation was once again interrupted by the sound of a whistle.

"Oi Urameshi! Get your lady friend into gear and let's go!"

"Can I ask you later?"

"'Course. Later." He took off running around the track, Yusuke following not far behind.

* * *

Right after school, Yusuke could be seen walking to his normal afternoon meeting place, eagerly searching around for his best friend. It had been a long day to say the least with the whole girlfriend thing going on and he had a few questions that needed answers. 'It's not like I think Kuwabara's smarter then me or anything, cuz he's not. But he understands girls way better then I do.' He snorted to himself. 'I'm surprised he wasn't born a frickin' girl.' Despite his condescending thought his face lit up at the sight of Kuwabara leaning up against the side of the school building between two bushes. 

Kuwabara nodded his head in greeting. Yusuke walked jauntily over to him and greeted him with a punch to the face. His tall friend dodged and took a swipe at his assailant. Yusuke managed to dodge as well by jumping back from him. They had both adopted their normal fighting stances several feet away from each other, poised for attack. Kuwabara lunged at Yusuke and Yusuke lunged at Kuwabara. Each boy had the fist of the other trapped in his grip effectively ending their short fight in a stalemate.

Yusuke smirked. "You're getting better Kuwa."

"Nah, you're just holding back your demon powers. Condescending bastard."

"Conde-whating?"

Kuwabara laughed at his friend's confusion. "Nothing, stupid," he said while ruffling the shorter boys hair.

Yusuke visibly bristled. "I can kill you yanno in front of all these cute girls!"

"That's a weak threat, Urameshi," Kuwabara said looking totally serious. "You know I only get embarrassed in front of cats." Yusuke burst out laughing at this and Kuwabara soon joined him. The girls who had been milling around were giving them strange looks.

"They're so gay," one girl with long orange hair said.

Her dark skin friend shook her head. "Can't be now cuz the black-haired one's dating that one girl."

"The one who owns the noodle shop?"

"Yep."

"Crap. He could do so much better..."

"Well I heard the tall one put him up to it..."

"Damn."

Meanwhile the boys were still messing around with each other as they did every afternoon. Both had huge grins on their faces like two little boys after they defeated the evil overlord of their imaginations. The fun was interrupted, however, by the entrance of Yusuke's brand new girlfriend.

"There you are Yusuke!" She rushed up to him and immediately latched onto his arm. Yusuke looked surprised and confused asking her 'what's up?'. "What do you mean 'what's up'? I've only been looking for you since school ended and it's almost 4 o'clock."

"Yeah I know that, still doesn't explain why you were looking for me."

Keiko's pretty face formed into a pout. "I wanted to walk home with you of course!"

Yusuke looked affronted. "But I always walk home with Kuwabara after we fight."

Keiko's face scrunched up and she was about to say something when Kuwabara spoke up. "Oi, it's okay stupid. Go with Keiko. She's your girlfriend after all." Said girlfriend's face lit up in a triumphant smile at his words.

"But Kuwa-"

"Nope. 'Sides I gotta go home early today anyways. Stuff to do." Before Yusuke could protest further, Kuwabara had already turned and begun walking away, his hand lifted in a form of 'goodbye'.

Yusuke half waved back at him. He looked down at the girl latched to his arm. Her cute face was staring back up at him eagerly, so excited. It almost reminded him of how he'd felt a few minutes ago. He shook his head. 'No, that's not right. I'm not an effin' girl whenever my buddy comes around.'

"C'mon Yusuke! I have homework and so do you so I expect us both to be doing it within the next hour!" She tugged at his arm with both hands and started half dragging him off in the direction opposite of Kuwabara's.

Yusuke eventually fell into step with his girlfriend, their hands shyly intertwined. He looked behind him, looking off into the distance. 'I always do my homework with Kuwabara...'

* * *

When the sky had begun taking on the wine colored hue of mid-evening, Kazuma Kuwabara could be found studiously working on the day's homework. His head was bent over his work and he had on a look of deep concentration. His pencil was moving steadily across the page of his latest essay for English. He frowned as he read over his last sentence. It didn't quite flow with the rest of his paper. He was about to erase it and rewrite when he felt a presence. 

Kuwabara tensed up, hoping it was only a squirrel but suspecting that it was something far more dangerous. He pretended to be reading over his work, trying to act as casual as possible while extending his spirit awareness to get a better idea of just who was lurking outside of his window. 'Seems pretty powerful. Really hope I don't have to fight in my room...'

Said presence was having a bit of trouble outside of the window since it was succeeding in making enough racket to disturb the neighbors. Almost sounded as though it was trying, and rather futilely, to get from a tree one floor down to Kuwabara's apartment window. 'What could be powerful enough to raise my awareness this high but stupid enough to make that much noise?'

A set of hands appeared on his windowsill along with the top of a dark, mussed head. 'Oh. Of course.' Kuwabara smiled to himself as he got up to open the window. He looked down at his friend who was just hanging there trying to get a grip on the worn down brick of the building with his equally as worn down sneakers. "Need a hand stupid?"

Yusuke finally took notice that he'd been caught and glared up at him. "No. I just have to get my footing." Kuwabara snorted and walked away from the window.

About 7 minutes later Yusuke had finally managed to heave himself up and through the window. He lay on Kuwabara's bed, which just happened to be situated next to the window, a slight sheen of sweat across his features. "See. Didn't need your help."

Kuwabara nodded, already deep into his assignment again. Yusuke laid there, just staring at the ceiling. It was silent in the room sans the sound of pencil marking paper from the desk. It was far from being uncomfortable however. The two friends had known each other long enough to reach the point where words weren't always needed.

Another short period of time passed in which Kuwabara finished his essay and read over it, finally satisfied. He lifted his arms behind his head to stretch, a yawn escaping. He turned to his friend who was still sprawled out on his bed.

"So what're you-"

"Why did she kiss me?"

"What?", Kuwabara exclaimed, eyes wide.

Yusuke pushed himself up on his elbows but still laying back. "I wanna know why she kissed me."

Kuwabara sighed. Here we go. "I assume you're talking about Keiko."

"You assume? What the hell? Don't you just, like, 'figure' not assume?"

The orange haired teen half-glared at him. "Fine. I figure." Yusuke smirked at him. "So what is it exactly that you wanna know?"

The smirk quickly faded. "Well, she like kissed me and I dunno why. It just... doesn't make any effin sense." Kuwabara got up from the chair and walked to the bed. He shoved Yusuke over and sat down, leaning across the bed till he too was laying down.

"Well", he started, "she is your girlfriend." Yusuke beat him in the face with a pillow. Kuwabara chuckled. "Okay, okay." He closed his eyes. "She kissed you cuz she really likes you. When two people really like each other, they kiss."

Yusuke made a face despite the fact that it went unseen. "Whaddya mean 'like each other'?"

"For instance, when you we're only a tiny dumbass, your mom probably kissed you on the forehead or whatever, right?" Yusuke thought hard for a moment before he made an affirmative sound. "That's cuz she loves you dork." Yusuke burst out laughing. Kuwabara opened his eyes only to roll them. It's not that Yusuke was stupid, just idiotically naïve.

When his friend's laughter died down, Kuwabara continued, eyes closed again. "Look, Keiko's just like your mom, 'cept younger, sober, and not well-known by hookers and drag-queens. She's just expressing how much she likes you, that's all."

Yusuke nodded to himself. "Okay, I guess that makes since. I mean my mom did like miss me when I died that one time." Kuwabara smiled to himself and got more comfortable on the bed. "Does that mean I should kiss her back cuz I like her?" Kuwabara nodded. "And it's ok if mom starts up and kissing me again?" Another nod. "So shouldn't we kiss?" Kuwabara's eyes snapped open and he sat upright. He turned to look at his friend who looked every bit as serious as when he'd asked the initial question.

"Umm... Urameshi..."

"Well, Kuwa-chan?" Yusuke's eyes were now tinged with mirth as he batted his eyelashes at his friend. Kuwabara lunged at him sending him into a fit of laughter. They tumbled around on the bed in a boy-ish fashion for a bit, eventually ending in the second stalemate of the day. They lay next to each other in silence as their breathing evened out.

"Hey, Kuwa."

"Yeah?"

"Having a girlfriend kinda sucks."

Kuwabara chuckled at the childish comment. "Don't worry, it'll get better. As long as you stop being an ass."

"Takes one to know one."

"At least I don't smell like one," Kuwabara countered as he climbed off the bed.

"Hey, I smell manly! Keiko said so today!" It took a while for Kuwabara to laugh that time. Yusuke finally sat up to stare at his friend. For some reason his best buddy seemed bothered by that comment. 'Maybe he's feeling extra stupid after his homework sucked out all of his smartness. I know I do."

The tall teen was roaming around his room arranging his homework for easy pick-up the next morning and generally tidying up. 'Man he's girly', Yusuke thought. 'But his room doesn't smell like ass so I guess being girly's better then nothing.' Kuwabara picked up a random pair of boxers and sniffed them. He nodded to himself before walking out of his bedroom door.

"If you wanna stay, Urameshi, there's extra pajama's somewhere", Kuwa called from the bathroom down the hall. Yusuke heard the door shut and the shower start up. He stood up from the bed and searched around for the extra Pjs for a bit, finding them much quicker than he expected. It helped that his sleeping over had become a weekly affair at the least.

He stripped down and changed into the pajama's, which consisted of a ripped up 'Megallica' shirt and a pair of worn kitty boxers. He then sat back down on the bed to wait for his friend.

As he waited his thoughts drifted back to earlier in the day. That afternoon, Keiko had dragged him off to her parent's shop where they'd holed up in a corner of the restaurant to work on homework together. Yusuke very reluctantly so. She helped him with his math and explained the assignment for English as well as the one for Japanese. All in all the afternoon had been similar to one he could have spent with Kuwabara, minus the fighting.

It didn't get weird until Keiko had gone over to her parents and whispered something to them. Her mom had been all smiles then and brought him over a huge bowl of specialty ramen. Her dad had approached him while he was eating and gave him a pat on the back saying something about 'be nice'. Yusuke had been thoroughly confused at the time but much too hungry to really dwell on it. It struck him as weird that Keiko had been extra close to him the whole afternoon, but he figured it was just what girlfriends and boyfriends did. He'd seen it in a movie once.

Yusuke's face scrunched up at the memory. It was just too weird to be friends one day and something more the next. He had to admit that he did like the feel of someone resting against him like that. 'I figure I can do this girlfriend thing as long as we don't do too much kissing. I don't care if she likes me, it's just too weird.'

He threw himself back onto the bed. 'Maybe tomorrow will be better like Kuwa said. I hope Shizuru makes French toast.' Those were some of his final thoughts as he drifted off to sleep.

When Kuwabara came back in, fresh from his shower, he was surprised to find his friend asleep. He paused in towel drying his hair to nudge Yusuke. "Oi, Urameshi." He kicked at him. "Urameshi." He punched him in the stomach. "Dammit Urameshi!" Yusuke just rolled over and mumbled something that sounded like 'hit harder you pansy'.

Kuwabara sighed. 'Looks like I get the floor tonight.' He snagged a pillow from his bed and a spare blanket from underneath the bed to settle down on the floor. He turned off the lamp over his desk before getting down to the floor and arranging himself into a comfortable position. 'He'd better appreciate this, the bastard.' He smiled as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

sweet Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, it takes bloody forever to format! fucking and their fucking system. dun tell me my format is gonna b preserved if it's not! tries to hang self 

well if you haven't noticed,this fic will not be following right along with the yyh plot. i do pull alot of stuff from the series, but no farther then the sensui act. so umm...yes... a good chunk of this is pulled from my ass. enjoi peeps.  
another note: this fic is completely finished and i'll prolly post a chapter every 3 days or so. it's not that i dun wanna post it all now, but i'm too lazy to proofread the whole damned thing. there will b 7 parts total methinks.  
final note: someone draw me a picture of kuwabara and yusuke at the window. that scene makes me happy. i tried drawing this myself, but i failed. trust me i failed... >>

... review you marvelous bastards


	2. Part 2

Dachi Part 2- _If we are such fools, in what way may that be?

* * *

_

The next morning Kuwabara woke to a several thin rays of sunlight on his face. He was surprised to see that he wasn't in his bed as was the norm. He was more than a little surprised to feel a warm body sprawled out on top of him.

'The hell!' He looked down his body to find the form of his best friend unceremoniously covering his own. Yusuke's body was half covered in blankets hinting that he'd fallen out of the bed in the middle of the night and ended up all over his best friend. Kuwabara scrunched up his eyebrows. This had to be one of the weirder ways to wake up.

Kuwabara shifted his hips a bit to test how attached his friend was. He was disappointed when Yusuke shifted to remain on top of him. 'This...is turning out to be a lot more difficult than I thought.' He gently pushed on his friend's body in an attempt to roll him off. Unfortunately he was met with firm resistance.

"Crap...", Kuwa muttered to himself. In response, Yusuke twisted in his sleep and muttered something about happy bombs. Kuwabara sighed. His good buddy was dead to the world as he was most mornings. It's just that usually he wasn't sprawled all over him. He may not care if he was late for school, but Kuwabara did and therefore wanted to get up and get dressed.

It seemed as though an eternity passed before Yusuke made any signs of waking up. His face took on the appearance of a cat yawning as he awoke. Kuwabara smiled at the sight despite the aggravation the boy had caused that morning. His smile widened when Yusuke rolled off of him to stretch. Wasting no time, Kuwabara picked himself up off the floor and stepped over his friend's prone form to get at his closet.

From the floor, Yusuke was on his back blinking sleepily up at the ceiling. He laid there for a time, just listening to his friend hustle around the room. 'Hm... are we late for school?' He lifted himself up on his elbows and took in the sight of Kuwabara hopping around on one foot, pants half on, trying to get his other down the hole of the pants leg. Yusuke continued to watch his friend get dressed, snickering softly every time he almost tripped or put on an article of clothing the wrong way. Kuwabara flustered never ceased to amuse him.

Deciding it was time he too prepared for school, he leapt off the floor and walked to the closet, barely dodging Kuwabara's near-spastic movements. He grabbed his spare uniform and slipped out the door to go shower.

After a quick shower he wandered into the kitchen where Shizuru, as always, was smoking.

"Hey Yusuke. French toast?"

Yusuke nodded both in greeting and agreement. He plopped down at the small, four chaired table and leaned back in his seat. Five minutes later, Kuwabara emerged from his room looking perfectly gelled and manly as always. He took a seat next to Yusuke.

"So, baka, what took you so long this morning?"

Kuwabara grunted. "You, idiot." Yusuke's eyes widened. Shizuru flipped the toast.

"Oi, I know you blame me for you being slow and all, and honestly that's probably my fault, but I've never kept you from getting your ass to school."

"Yeah, well you've never rolled off the bed on top of me have you?", Kuwabara said deadpanned. Yusuke's expression looked to be stuck between shock and incredulous laughter. Shizuru took a long drag on her cigarette and piled some French toast on a plate. She set it down between the boys and went about getting forks and knives for them.

"I-I didn't fall off the bed! I always sleep on the floor! And that's where I was when I woke up, the floor!" Shizuru set plates, cups, knives, and forks in front of them.

"Yeah, well I always sleep on my bed, but I took the floor cuz your dumb ass decided to conk out on MY bed!" She placed two pieces of toast on their plates, each, then thought better of it and gave Yusuke an extra piece.

"The fuck do you know! I woke up on the floor, and that's where I went to sleep at, not your skanky-ass bed!" She set out the syrup and poured them a glass of milk.

"My bed's not so skanky that you wouldn't sleep all over it! I found you passed out there after my shower and you sure looked a hell of a lot more comfy than you say!"

"Boys," Shizuru interjected.

"Couldn't have cuz it smells like your fat ass!"

"Boys."

"That's partially your own damn fault Mr. 'I have to climb through the effin window'!"

"Boys!" They both stopped at the sudden outburst. "Both of you shut the fuck up and eat your damn breakfast. If you're late for school it isn't my damn fault." She took a long drag on her cigarette before putting it out in Yusuke's glass of milk.

Surprisingly, Yusuke said nothing, but began stabbing at his French toast like there was no tomorrow. Kuwabara followed suit, but not before getting Yusuke a fresh, ash less glass of milk. They ate in silence. Shizuru smiled at them, lighting up another cigarette. It didn't matter how dumb they acted sometimes, they still managed to be kind of cute.

"You've got gay sheets, man." She took that back. They were terrible little bastards that needed to shut up.

Kuwabara attempted to speak around a mouthful of toast. "Shut the fuck up Urameshi!"

"Hey I'm just saying you need a hand in the manliness department," Yusuke said mouth equally as full with toast.

"Bite me!"

"I will!"

Knock, knock, knock. The boys froze, hands outstretched in a position that suggested both were trying their best to sabotage the others breakfast. Whoever was outside knocked again. They blinked. Kuwabara was the first to withdraw, getting up from his chair to answer the door. He was more than a little surprised to see who stood on the other side of the threshold. It was the one person he'd never expected to see on his doorstep, but there she was, smiling endearingly up at him. Keiko.

"Good morning Kuwabara-san!", she said brightly.

"Uh.. Good morning Keiko-san," he replied a little less cheerfully. "May I ask why you're here at-" he glanced at the clock in the hallway "-seven forty-five on a weekday?"

"Of course, Kuwabara-san! I just wanted to know where, um.." she flushed cutely, "where my boyfriend was."

Kuwabara was expressionless for a moment before donning a rather tight smile. "Oh, Keiko-san, he's right inside. Let me take you to him." He opened the door wide enough so that she could get through and waited for her to take of her shoes as was custom at any Japanese household. He then led her down the hallway and to the kitchen.

Yusuke was still sitting in his chair digging through breakfast. In fact in the time that it took his friend to open the door he'd already helped himself to another serving of French toast, a.k.a Kuwabara's. He smirked to himself as he heard footsteps. 'Man, I can't wait to see his face. He always looks so shocked when I eat his food.'

The footsteps stopped as they reached the table. Yusuke swallowed his latest mouthful and put on his best innocent look. "Gee Kuwa, I have no idea where your...French... Keiko?" She beamed down at him. Kuwabara wasn't even in the room.

"Um... Hey Keiko, good morning."

"Ohayo Yusuke-kun!", she reached down and placed a kiss on his cheek causing them both to blush. Blushing furiously, she found her way to the chair Kuwabara once occupied. "I looked for you at your home this morning but your Mom said you weren't there. I don't know where Kurama-san lives and I don't remember Hiei-san ever saying he had a home to begin with, so I came here." She looked up at him. "Is that okay?"

Yusuke looked up from his now empty plate intending on answering her question. He jumped when he saw trademark silver-blue eyes staring at him from the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Kuwabara mouthed something and made crude sign language, his hands imitating two people snuggling and kissing. Yusuke flushed and glared at him.

"Yusuke?"

Said boy blinked then focused on the girl in front of him. "Uh, yeah?"

"I asked if it was ok that I came looking for you. You never answered." Her hands were situated in her lap, twisting the fabric of her pleated skirt.

"Oh... right. Well, naw I don't mind." He smiled at her as she looked up. "Besides, you were just... worried about me right?" Keiko looked ecstatic. She nodded then reached up and kissed his cheek again starting to blab on about how understanding he was.

Kuwabara put down his arm bearing the thumbs up sign and slumped against the wall. He sighed to himself before rolling himself off the wall and headed for his room. He stared down at the homework he had sprawled all over his desk. Only his homework this time. He'd been so used to Yusuke's work taking up all of his extra space so it was odd to see only his work there.

'Hey, I have no right to complain. I told him to date her and I knew there were going to be some changes.' He gathered up his work and shoved it into his bag. He wandered back out to the kitchen where the two lovebirds were talking animatedly. He grabbed only his lunch out of the fridge and stuffed that into his bag as well. He walked through the kitchen and to the entryway, unnoticed. He kneeled down to put on his shoes.

'It's not like I haven't known Yusuke for a long time. I've had plenty of time with him, right? Doesn't she deserve as much time as I had?' He finished tying his shoes and was about to get up to leave when his sister pushed him back down.

"If she marries him, won't she have him all to herself for the rest of her life?"

Kuwabara wouldn't look his sister in the face but got up and reached for the door. Her hand on his wrist stopped him. "If you're thinking in terms of being fair, then it's you who should be spending more time with him." Kuwabara turned the knob on the door.

"Shizuru, I wasn't even thinking that. I was just worried over a test is all." And with that he opened the door and started for school. His sister stared after him, shaking her head.

Yusuke looked up as the door shut. "Kuwabara?" When Shizuru walked into the kitchen he was surprised. "Where did Kuwabara go?"

"He left already," she said as if that were enough explanation.

He gave her an inquisitive look. "But why? We were gonna walk to school together." She shrugged and took a puff on her 3rd cigarette of the day.

"Maybe he had to go get help from a teacher," Keiko supplied. "I know he's gotten better in school, but I still worry about him." Shizuru twitched but said nothing. Yusuke nodded slowly, agreeing with her. Shizuru had to restrain herself from saying anything crass.

"My gosh, Yusuke-kun! We should be getting to school too!", she exclaimed.

Yusuke got up from the table and turned to Shizuru. "Hey, do you know where Kuwa put my lunch?" She was about to reply when Keiko broke in.

"He made you lunch? But I made you lunch today Yusuke." She reached into her bag and produced a rectangular light blue lunch box. Yusuke took it with a bit of hesitation. "If that's all you were worried about then can we go?" She tugged impatiently at his arm.

"Uh, sure." They left a few moments later, leaving Shizuru alone in the apartment.

"Wow. I do believe I hate her." She blew out a final puff of smoke and put out her cigarette.

* * *

After a rather exhausting morning, Yusuke was glad to be let out for lunch. He was also glad to be away from the looks he was still getting just because he was dating Keiko. So they were going out, didn't mean everyone had to stare. New lunchbox in hand, he was searching for Kuwabara. He hadn't seen much of him that day really. 

Then he spotted Kuwabara at his locker also getting ready for lunch. "Oi! Kuwa!" Kuwabara looked up and smiled, though he looked less cheerful than normal. Yusuke shrugged that off as being a trick of the distance between them and ran over to his friend.

"Hey idiot, what's up?"

"Nothing, Urameshi." Kuwabara kept fiddling around with something in his locker.

Yusuke leaned up against the locker next to Kuwabara's. "Well, aren't you coming up to the roof to eat?" Kuwabara paused.

"No..."

"Whaddya mean 'no'?"

Kuwabara sighed and looked away. He slammed his locker closed before answering. "I mean that I can't eat lunch with you today Yusuke."

He was about to say something when what Kuwabara said caught up with him. 'Did he just call me 'Yusuke'?'

"Besides I'm sure Keiko would like to have you all to herself for at least today. And I've got work to do, so..." He trailed off. Yusuke was staring at him blankly. "Look, I'll see you later, ok?"

Yusuke nodded dumbly, watching Kuwabara walk off towards a classroom. Sure enough, a few moment after that, Keiko appeared with a group of her giggling friends to drag Yusuke off for lunch.

"Come on Yusuke-kun! Let's eat lunch in the classroom!" He didn't protest as he was lead to homeroom.

* * *

As if Yusuke hadn't been feeling Kuwabara deprived enough for one day, his buddy was already dressed and outside for gym. 'Not to sound like a needy girl or anything, but he should've waited for me. It's tradition,' he thought while slipping on his socks and shoes. 'Besides he's good at running and always finishes early. He could've hung back at least.' He was still fussing around with his shoes with a half-pout on his face. 

"Oi, Urameshi!" Yusuke's head snapped up. Kuwabara! He looked up into the face of a boy he recognized from his class. Not Kuwabara. He returned to fixing his shoes and ignored whatever else the boy said.

"...I might take a run at her if you're not that interested...", the boy trailed off.

"Hn. Okay." Yusuke stood up from the bench in front of his locker and stretched. He was on his way out to the field with one thought on his mind. Have Kuwabara time. He was thrown off course when he noticed that about half the boys in the class were staring at him. "What the eff are you idiots lookin' at?"

The boy who had been speaking earlier answered him. "Dude, I was just saying how I was gonna take Keiko."

"Oh, is that all." Yusuke shrugged. "If you take her I'll just come rescue her later. Not the first time." He pushed past the boys and almost made it to the door, but was grabbed by the upper arm. "What now bitch?"

The boy paled a bit noticing the warning tone in his voice. Last time he spoke that way was during the kitty incident and no man came away from that unscathed. "W-well Mr. Urameshi, sir, I was merely joking about how if you didn't start showing more interest in Ms. Keiko that I might be kinda, um, tempted to take her from you as in, uh, date her instead of you...um... Please don't hurt me, sir."

Yusuke blinked at this. He wasn't being boyfriendy enough with her? Once again just a small thing sent him into the deepest depths of confusion. 'Now I really need to see Kuwabara. I thought I was doing fine!' Yusuke threw the hand on his arm off, roughly, then stalked outside to the track. He saw Kuwabara running alone, the coach timing him.

"Hey, Urameshi, what's taking the ladies so long?"

"Eff if I know coach." He decided to not waste anymore time and took of running as soon as Kuwabara came close enough. He easily fell into step with his friend who seemed to be running slower then normal.

They ran in silence for a minute or so, maybe less. "Not gonna frickin' say hi to me?"

Kuwabara's head snapped to the side. He honestly had not noticed the arrival of his best friend. "Sorry man. Guess I was caught up."

"Hm." Yusuke was starting to lose his breath a bit. He couldn't run like this forever, not like Kuwabara. Then again the orange haired boys legs went on forever making it quite a bit easier for him. "So why were you avoiding me?"

Kuwabara didn't speak for a while. He kept up the silence until he'd finished his last lap. "I had stuff to do today," he said, wiping his face with his shirt.

"Right. Frickin' Koenma's busy but he still finds time to bother me. So seriously, what's up?" His hands were perched on his hips and he was glaring upwards so as to make eye contact with his taller friend.

Kuwa looked at him for a moment, a snigger starting up in his chest. His lips were pursed together so as to not let the laughter through which served to make Yusuke glare more. Finally he could keep it in no longer and burst out laughing.

"Oi! What the hell's so funny?" Kuwabara laughed more at his outburst. Yusuke crossed his arms in frustration, still glaring at his friend who was currently halfway to the ground with tears leaking out of his eyes. He waited quite impatiently for his friend's laughter to cease before accosting him again.

"The fuck's so funny?"

"Man, your face!", Kuwabara answered with a grin.

"That's the oldest damn insult in the book. I thought you were better than this scholar-boy."

"No, not your face all the time. Though it is pretty funny." He smirked. "I meant just then I swear you could've been a frickin' girl." His smirk widened as his friend grew indignant.

"Does it look like I have tits!"

Kuwabara sniggered. "If I say yes, will you punch me?"

"You bet your ass I will!"

"Then, yes."

Yusuke lunged at him, his fist out in front of him. Said fist solidly connected with Kuwabara's face. Kuwabara was forced to take a step back from the blow, but still remained upright. Despite the bruising he knew was creeping up the side of his face, he smiled.

"Thanks buddy." He patted Yusuke on the shoulder.

Yusuke blinked at him, then smiled as well. "No prob. Now hey, I needed to talk to you."

"Yeah?", he stretched out his arms. "'Bout what?"

"Some of the bitches in our class were saying I'm not boyfriendy enough with Keiko."

Kuwa raised an eyebrow. "'Boyfriendy'?"

"Yeah like caring and kissy or whatever." Yusuke scratched at the side of his face and watched his friend in anticipation.

"Well... go finish running your laps first before coach is forced to fight you himself. I'll talk to you after school, alright?" Yusuke nodded then took off to run his laps. Kuwabara paused for a moment to think over something before going to join Yusuke. The black haired boy caught sight of his friend out of the corner of his eye.

As they ran both of the boys had smiles on their faces.

* * *

After school seemed to come more slowly than usual that day. Yusuke couldn't figure out why gym lasted an eternity and a half, but he was glad to be released for the day. Much like every afternoon, he rushed off to the spot where he met Kuwabara. He was happy to see that his friend stood there waiting for him as always. As he jogged over he raised his hand in greeting. 

Kuwabara smiled at him as he stopped right up next to him, panting. "Hey, Urameshi. What's up?"

Yusuke grinned at him. "You know, man, keeping up with my phys ed homework."

The tall boy failed to laugh at the comment, his eyes focused on some point in the distance. He stared dazedly for a moment before his attention snapped back to his friend.

"Look, Yusuke, some of the other guys are being kinda stupid kinda not."

"What? Kuwa what're you-"

Kuwabara cut him off. "Yusuke, when you date a girl you have to treat her better than your friends."

"Well yeah, I don't beat her up," he said grinning.

"Sure, you're stupid but not that bad," Kuwabara said his eyes once again drifting off.

"Hey-"

"The point is you have to spend time with her, she needs you. You need her. You may not understand yet," his eyes flicked downward, "but you really like her and when you really like someone you need them."

"Well, then I need you right?"

Kuwabara responded with a look that was a mix of anger and incredulity. "No, you don't. I'm just convenient," he spat out his temper flaring suddenly. "I could leave and you could get over me, and don't tell me that you couldn't cuz you could!" He paused and his tone softened though his anger was still apparent. "But, she... she's special. She's going to make you happier then anyone else on this earth if only you'd let her."

Yusuke looked indignant and confused. "But I'm dating her, what more'm I supposed to do!"

Kuwabara jabbed a finger in the shorter boy's face, his face tight. "Basically, Urameshi, stop being a prick and actually interact with her!" Yusuke looked shocked and angry to say the least, but Kuwabara continued. "Instead of being confused all the fucking time, take her, kiss her, and just enjoy her damn company!"

Yusuke was more than a little angry and confused but as soon as he was about to reply, the topic of discussion appeared behind him.

"Um... is this a bad time because you both look a little upset," Keiko said softly.

Kuwabara snorted, turned on his heel and stalked off leaving only his words in his place.

Keiko put a hand to her mouth, covering a gasp. "What was all that about?"

Yusuke turned his head away and looked down. "Nothing."

"But, Yusuke-kun, he looked really mad."

"It's nothing, Keiko."

However, she continued to push. "You know, if you're having a fight with him then it'd be in your best interest to go talk to him immediately. It won't do if you two go around avoiding each other all the time."

Her reprimands stung with irony. "Like he hasn't been avoiding me already," he mumbled out.

"Did you say something?", she asked while leading him away from the school grounds.

"No, I didn't Keiko...", he thought for a split second, "...chan."

And suddenly it was as though she forgot that she'd even seen the two fighting. She beamed up at her boyfriend and half hugged him as they walked. She remained firmly snuggled up to him all the way to the noodle shop.

They were both greeted with 'Good Afternoon's from her parents. Good afternoon. Right.

* * *

hope no one's too pissy at yusuke or kuwabara. everything'll work out, i promise. u'll just hav to wait till july 23rd to see how well it works out. ahahahahahahahaha _yawns_  
ok! how 'bout some thank u's?... and a sandwhich... _coughs_ right.  
thanks to JovianShe-Wolf, Katzztar, Annonymous, Zelia Theb, and dear swt Kazi-chan! most reviews i've ever gotten in 3 days. or 3 months. thanx guys.

fanart request: i want pics of kuwa and yusuke bickering over french toast and of yusuke sprawled over kuwa. yesh. gimme.

butt sex! _goes to work_


	3. Part 3

Dachi Part 3-_I understand the bad things, although I believe I continue to help if I always keep silent_

* * *

Yusuke decided not to visit Kuwabara's that night feeling that it just wouldn't have been appropriate. Not that he was appropriate normally, but when it came to Kuwabara he often wasn't the same. So, when he woke the next morning he only had one thought on his mind: 'Find Kuwabara and figure out what the fuck's up with him.' 

He went through his daily routine much faster then normal eager to get to school on time and talk to his friend. He wasn't expecting the knock on the door a few minutes after he'd left the shower. When he opened the door he suddenly remembered the morning before.

There was Keiko, in her school uniform with a smile on her face. "Good morning, Yusuke-kun!"

Yusuke threw out a weak 'good mornin' in return. Was this going to happen everyday from now on? Suddenly the words Kuwabara had spoken to him came back. She needs you. 'I guess that means I'll be walking her to school from now on. Right?' He looked apprehensive for a moment before grabbing his school bag and stepping outside. He grabbed onto Keiko's arm and started walking.

"So, did you sleep well?", she asked genuinely curious.

Yusuke shrugged.

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

"I usually don't unless Shizuru's fixing."

"Oh." She paused. "That's Kuwabara-san's sister, right?"

Yusuke nodded. The two walked in silence.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Keiko stopped walking in order to dig something out of her bag. "I made another special lunch for you!" She grinned at him extending out the blue lunchbox.

Yusuke took it, not planning on saying anything when once again Kuwabara's words surfaced from his memory. Just enjoy her damn company! "Thanks Keiko-chan." He grinned at her in return. They started walking again. "Yanno normally I wouldn't have lunch and all cuz I can't cook my way out of a wet paper bag or whatever. So a while back Kuwabara started fixin' it for me so I'd stop beating younger kids out of their lunches. Now I have you, so still no beating and no hunger."

"Oh... well that's good."

He was surprised to see that she was staring straight ahead and looked... put out? He'd thought that opening up and talking more was going to make her happy, not this. "Your lunch is really good, though. I wouldn't take another kid's lunch again if I didn't have to."

She looked at him. "Really?" Yusuke nodded. Keiko's eyes narrowed slightly, but only just. "Not even from Kuwabara-san?"

The look in her eyes bothered him. It felt as though she were asking a much more than about whose lunch was the best. 'Well, I like there's both. Her's is good, but honestly Kuwa knows what I like better... I'd hafta say I like his best.' Despite his thoughts he felt it unwise to say what was really on his mind.

"Not even from Kuwabara." She seemed satisfied with this answer and kissed him on his cheek. He smiled though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

* * *

As luck would have it, he didn't get a chance to see Kuwabara that morning. He'd dragged Keiko all around the school looking for the orange haired boy before class was to start, but never could spot him amongst the other students. He asked some of Kuwabara's other friends and not even they knew where he was that morning. But when the bell rang, there he was, sitting in his seat a row away from Yusuke. 

'What's his deal today? He won't even look at me. Least he could do is say good morning.' Realizing that glaring holes into the back of his head wouldn't make him look, Yusuke looked down at the book they were reading from. 'Blah blah blah forbidden love blah blah... Is this a romance novel or something cuz it sure as hell sounds like one!' He looked up at where Keiko was sitting and found her absorbed in the book. A few more seconds of staring and she turned her head to look at him. She winked and went back to reading.

'Sure, the girl without spirit awareness looks up, but Mister dumb fuck I-can-sense-the-spirit-of-a-cockroach-from-20-miles-away won't even flinch!'

"Mr. Urameshi, are you having a problem with the text?"

Yusuke was about to say 'no', but then thought better of it. "Actually, I do." All eyes turned to him. "This thing reads like a friggin' romance novel! What the eff do I care about love!"

"Mr. Urameshi-"

"I mean, seriously, how many people in here are positive that they're in love with somebody? Well, not me. I can't even say that I love my mom yet much less another person." Many of the boys in class were nodding along with some of the girls, though less of them.

"I want to be able to get through my teenage years without some girl hanging all over me and asking me how much I love her! And even if I do love the girl I won't know for sure till I'm an old fart or whatever! It's just effing easier to hang out with my best friend for the rest of my life! At least he doesn't expect anything out of me." At this moment he noticed that Keiko had turned and was now glaring angrily at him. Seeing this look made him pause long enough for the teacher to speak again.

He cleared his throat. "As passionate as you may feel about this Mr. Urameshi, I'm afraid it's not appropriate in class. I'd give you a detention if I thought it would do any good, so if you would please sit down..."

Yusuke hadn't realized he'd stood up, but with little of his passion left, he slumped down into his seat. Keiko glared at him for a moment longer before tossing her head and going back to reading. His eyes traveled over to where Kuwabara sat.

During his whole tirade, Kuwabara never even glanced up from his reading.

* * *

Lunch didn't prove to be better for Yusuke and his quest, for Kuwabara was, once again, nowhere to be found. Not that he had time to search for him since he was to make an appearance in the classroom with his girlfriend who seemed hell-bent on smothering him. He couldn't understand why she was so extra touchy. He was unable to say that it bothered him too much because honestly she was a very pretty girl and she was all over him. Still, he wanted to talk to his friend terribly. 

Before he knew it, it was the end of the day again and time for phys ed. He wasn't too surprised to see that Kuwabara had already dressed and was outside running his laps for the day. Yusuke wasted no time in dressing and blocked out whatever the idiots around him were saying and raced out to the track. He jogged up to Kuwabara and fell into step with him.

"What the hell's with you today?"

Kuwabara ignored him.

"I haven't seen you all day and I've been wanting to ask you about yesterday."

Silence met him.

"Really, man, I wanted to know what was up. And I'm sorry for being stupid, but I really do count on you for stuff like that."

Still more silence.

"And I do take your advice, cuz me and Keiko are doing better now-"

"Yusuke." He skidded to a stop noticing Kuwabara had stopped a few steps behind him. "You don't have the time to be around me anymore." Kuwabara said this without looking into his eyes.

He looked up at his friend incredulously for what seemed to be the third or fourth time within a few days. "And just why wouldn't I have time for you?"

"Because, Yusuke." He still wouldn't look up.

"Cuz wha- fuck!" One hand flew up to clutch his nose while his other came up ready to block and attack. The rest of his body had fallen into his fighting stance as well. When the pain in his face ebbed some he looked up to see that Kuwabara was no longer beside him, nor was he running around the track. In fact Kuwabara was nowhere to be found.

"He left... the bastard left..." Yusuke didn't know whether to be angry or indignant or sad or what. He just stood where he was, staring, his hand touching at the fast-forming bruise on his face.

* * *

Despite all that had happened, Yusuke went to his and Kuwabara's meeting spot. Like every other day he rushed over and stood waiting for his friend to arrive. Like every other day his eyes searched wildly looking for him. Like every other day he couldn't wait to see him. 

Unlike every other day Kuwabara never showed up that afternoon. Yusuke waited as long as he could, even after Keiko had arrived to drag him off to the noodle shop. He still stood there making up excuses about some thing they'd planned months ago or something of that nature. His girlfriend eventually won and managed to get him walking.

After they'd been walking for a while, she decided to address something that she'd been holding in all day.

"Yusuke...", she trailed off hoping to get his attention. He made a sound signaling that he was paying attention. However she called his name again. He made a similar sound of acknowledgement but still she called his name. "Yusuke!"

"What?", he snapped. He'd already shown he was listening. Why call out his name so many times?

"That's just what I figured..." she trailed off again hoping for some type of reaction.

"Figured what?", he asked truly curious.

She sighed loudly. "Oh, you don't get it. I didn't think you would!"

He stopped walking. "Don't get what?"

"You'd never get it, I'm sure! Just keep walking." She grabbed his hand and started walking again only to stop when she found that her boyfriend wouldn't budge. "Yusuke, it's ok, I'm not mad at you. Just come on!" She tugged at his hand again.

"No, I wanna know what it is that I'm too stupid to get."

"I never said you were stupid, I just think you wouldn't understand." She tried futilely and perhaps too dramatically to get him to move.

"Ok, I know I'm not a frickin' genius or anything, but if you could just explain things to me." He actually sounded put out, not so proud of the idiot persona he presented to everyone. "I mean, Kuwabara always slowed things down for me or explained it how I would understand... Maybe if you could..." He didn't know what to say after that for Keiko's face had grown cold and she was glaring at him.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Whaddya mean Keiko?"

"It's always Kuwabara isn't it?", she spat out.

"He's my best friend!"

She wrenched her hand away from his as if she'd been burned. "And me being your girlfriend isn't important enough? Or I guess I just hang on you too much and I shouldn't rush you into a decision!" Yusuke looked taken aback as his words came back to bite him. He was surprised when they stung less then he thought.

"Keiko, I didn't mean... I was just talking..."

"Right," she sniffed. "I know who you really like better and I've known it all along." Her voice began to waver as she kept talking. "Kuwabara-san was always more honorable than me I guess. I guess he's prettier than me too, isn't he!" She let out a sob.

Yusuke noticed that they were gaining the attention of quite a few passer by and tried to tug his girlfriend close to make their conversation more private. His plan backfired when she jerked away from him. "C'mon Keiko, it's just Kuwabara-"

"No, it's NOT just Kuwabara! It's all the time you devote to him instead of me! You act like he's so much more important than I am, but he's-he's a boy, Yusuke! He's a boy!" It was becoming very obvious to those around the couple that no matter how upset she seemed, her antics were just too much. However, Yusuke didn't quite understand how girls tended to function.

"Keiko, he's not more important than you, he's just..."

"Just what Yusuke?" She spoke again before he even had a chance to think of a proper response. "I've waited patiently all these years for you to finally realize how I feel about you and I'm still not good enough! I thought I'd given you time to be yourself and to grow up. I thought I could finally have a chance at being with the fine young man you turned out to be!" She sobbed hard into her hands.

Everyone around them was looking openly. Most had bored but curious looks on their faces, anticipating what Yusuke would do. Yusuke, himself, was at a loss having never dealt with a crying girl before. At least not like this. If she'd skinned her knee, that'd be easy to take care of, but crying over the comparison of time he spent with his best friend and his girlfriend... He couldn't make heads or tails of the situation.

He knew he had to think quick- had to think of something that would both calm and reassure her in the limited time he had. He didn't want to lose her after all. He tentatively reached out a hand, becoming more bold mid-gesture and enveloped her in a tight, one-armed embrace. She struggled a bit too half-heartedly for her to have really been against being in his arms.

Yusuke rested his head on top of Keiko's. "Keiko, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you thought that..." 'Sorry you thought Kuwabara was prettier!' "You thought I didn't care for you enough. And I'm sorry you had to wait so long." 'Sorry I'm such a damn street punk that you had to wait for me to grow up.'

Keiko sniffled into his chest. "But-but who comes first?" She sniffled pitifully again and turned watery eyes on him.

He froze up. What kind of question was that? How could he possibly answer that question. Still the words Kuwabara had told him rang loud and clear. I'm just convenient. I could leave and you could get over me. She's special. 'If she's special then I know what I should say...'

"Your first Keiko. Always first." He smiled gently at her.

She gave him a watery smile, but looked terribly happy nonetheless. "Thank you Yusuke-kun. You don't know how much that means to me."

Honestly, Yusuke didn't know and maybe he didn't want to know.

* * *

The next few weeks went fast for Yusuke. Every day another facet of his and Keiko's relationship seemed to be added on and he was weighed down with the extra responsibility. Not that he minded much. Sure, it was stressful, but life was stressful too. This was just a different type of stress and it came with awesome rewards. A kiss on the cheek here, or a special lunch there, or an outing with just the two of them. 

Life wasn't going too bad for him. Maybe except for those awkward moments he tended to have when he saw Kuwabara. Often times Kuwabara wouldn't even acknowledge him anymore and he couldn't understand why. He could understand on a base level that they'd had a fight the last time they'd spoken, but could the orange haired boy still be mad at him over that? He'd even tried to apologize from before, but still no reaction.

It wasn't all bad, though. Keiko seemed to be much happier now that he was seeing less of his friend. Yusuke figured she was just glad to have more time with him and didn't suspect anything sinister amiss. And why should he? Their relationship had been nothing but perfect since the fight they had in the street that day. Perfect.

It was nearing the end of the third week of Keiko dating Yusuke that he was finally given a chance to talk to Kuwabara. Koenma had contacted Yusuke earlier that week with information on their latest mission. He had been asked by the toddler god to alert his other teammates on the matter. Thus, an excuse for him to finally talk with his best friend.

So, during lunch Thursday afternoon, Yusuke pardoned himself from lunch with Keiko claiming that he had lost his wallet and had to go search for it. In actuality he went searching for Kuwabara who didn't seem to be anywhere. Yusuke had checked all of the classrooms they'd ever been admitted into, outside near the track, most of the storage closets they'd ever broken into, and down next to the front gates. The only place he hadn't checked he wouldn't have expected to find him there.

'He hasn't been up on the roof in days. All his friends told me so.' Though his and Keiko's relationship had been utterly blissful and lacking in Kuwabara, Yusuke never stopped trying to speak with him. He often came up with excuses to look for the tall teen, each time turning up empty. Even when he couldn't look himself, he made sure to check with his friends as to the whereabouts of the cat-loving teenager.

Full of doubt, Yusuke climbed up the staircase leading to the roof in hoping to find his friend but very sure that he wouldn't. He kicked open the door to the roof and immediately started searching around. His search didn't take him long. There, sitting by the railing where the two boys had once spent their lunchtimes, was Kuwabara.

Yusuke paused, surprised and relieved to have finally found him. He began walking towards his friend a smile already creeping over his features. Finally he was right behind the one he'd been looking for and was extending a hand to tap him on the shoulder when a sudden wave of apprehension hit him. What if Kuwabara really didn't want to speak with him anymore? Maybe he'd been ignoring him all this time because the friendship they'd felt was no longer there. Yusuke shook his head thinking it couldn't be true. It couldn't possibly, not while he still had such strong feelings for Kuwabara.

Before Yusuke could think another word on the matter, Kuwabara spoke. "Hey Urameshi."

Yusuke jumped, forgetting that his friend had probably sensed him from the time he came through the door. "Hey Kuwabara."

They lapsed into silence, Yusuke feeling more nervous than he'd ever been and Kuwabara being practically unreadable.

Eventually Kuwabara sighed and addressed his friend. "What do ya want Urameshi?"

Yusuke perked up, knowing what to say in answer to his question. "Well the toddler bitch called and we have a mission. See these demon thie-"

"When?"

"What?" He blinked.

"Tell me when and where it is."

"Oh." Yusuke turned his gaze downward. "We leave on Friday evening and it'll be through Saturday."

"Ok. I'll be there." Kuwabara's tone had a sort of finality to it that ended the conversation too quick for Yusuke's liking.

"Kuwabara... I... What've you been up to lately?", Yusuke asked not entirely expecting an answer.

Silence reigned for what seemed like an eternity before Kuwabara spoke. "Sorry bout all this..." He sighed. "I really shouldn't be ignoring you, should I? Not that it's an easy feat, not with your big mouth."

Yusuke crossed his arms over his chest. "So you have been ignoring me? Why? Me too butch for ya?" He grinned slightly.

"Yeah... yeah that's it for sure." Kuwabara turned around to face Yusuke, their eyes meeting for the first time in weeks. They stared at each other for a good while as though taking in each other's faces for the first time in years. They both seemed as thought they wanted to commit these images to memory so as to never forget them.

Yusuke took a tentative step closer to his friend. "So where've you been lately?"

Though the question itself was broad and vague, they both understood what it meant. Where and what had Kuwabara been doing. "You know, beating up kids for their lunch money while cheating my way through exams." He let out a strained chuckle.

"Really Kuwabara, where've ya been?"

His expression turned serious as he answered. "Trying to stay out of the way, Yusuke." Yusuke looked surprised both at the use of his first name and the answer. "I knew what you'd say if I'd told you that we should spend less time together so I just figured to not spend anytime with you at all."

The black haired boy gasped as he realized what was going on. "That's what you meant that day? You wanted me to spend more time with Keiko."

"Yeah," Kuwabara said sheepishly. "Did it work?"

Yusuke punched him in the arm. Hard. "Yes it worked you bastard but what the hell were you thinking not talking to me like that?" The proud teen looked ashamed. "What made you think I'd be ok with skipping out on beating your face in? You're my best friend dammit and being away from you is like...like..."

"Torture?"

"Yeah! It's like being strapped to a wall and being whipped and butt raped." Despite the queer use of language Yusuke looked totally serious. "Kuwabara," he placed a hand on his friends shoulder, "I really did miss you. You're important to me. You said yourself that if someone is important to you then you should spend time with them."

"I did say that didn't I?"

"Yup." He grinned. "Guess that means we gotta spend time together doesn't it?"

Kuwabara smiled weakly back but nodded. "Guess we do."

"'Sides, I'm sure Keiko won't miss me for one weekend. And maybe you can go out with me and Keiko certain afternoons. It'll be great!" Yusuke grinned up at him the way he does after he'd done some stupid move that nearly killed him but saved him and his friends instead.

"Uh... Sure, Yusuke, anything you want."

Yusuke blinked at him and started poking him in the chest. "Oi, what's with all this calling me by my first name stuff?" Kuwabara, however, was paying very little attention to what his friend was saying as his gaze was fixed to a point beyond his shoulder.

"I... I'm pretty sure Keiko's been wondering where you are so you'd better go see her", Kuwabara let out quickly before turning back to the railing.

Yusuke opened his mouth to blurt something out when he thought better of it and turned to where Kuwabara had been looking. There was Keiko standing next to the door that led to the roof. She didn't look particularly happy.

Yusuke rushed over to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey Kei-chan." She didn't respond for a moment her eyes revealing that she was thinking very carefully about something. When the answer became clear to her she smiled sweetly. Maybe a little too sweetly. She threw her arms around Yusuke burying her face in his chest.

"Hey Yusuke-kun!", she said, her voice much deeper then normal. "I've been looking for you."

Yusuke had wrapped his arms around her but was a little taken aback by her display of affection. "Why were you-" He was cut off by a pair of soft lips closing over his. Yusuke and Keiko were sharing their first real kiss. Her eyes were closed as her mouth moved gently against her boyfriends and soon he too had his eyes shut. When they finally parted she had a soft smile on her face and her cheeks were flushed. Yusuke wore a look of pleased bewilderment at the sudden touching of lips, but he certainly wasn't disappointed.

Yusuke looked up to see if Kuwabara had witnessed all this but was disappointed to find that he'd disappeared again. But he was glad too. Strangely glad.

"We'd better get to class Yusuke-kun." With that she led him back into the building to start afternoon classes. As they descended the steps of the darkened stairwell, a satisfied smirk formed on her face. 'I'm winning.'

* * *

who wants to kill keiko! I do dammit! and i wrote this damn thing!  
big big big ol' fat thanx to these ppl here: Bit-blackmage(dun worri, i dun NEED fanart, just asking dear), JovianShe-Wolf(somin bad **will** happen to dear Kazu-chan _evil gryn_), Kazi-chan(i'll let u read the rest if u wanna ho-face), Zelia Theb(boys locker rooms are like that, only smellier and with gratuitous nudity _twitches_), Icefox1, and LaDiDaanifan. thank u guys so much! i feel all special-like! actually i'm feeling quite drunk andlonely but that's cuz i haven't seen Kazi-chan in 3 friggin dayz. thanx kiddos. XD

is anyone paying attention to the titles of this thing? the italic parts? maybe? no?...the next part will b posted on thurzdizzle(thursday). i quit my job. _smiles_


	4. Part 4

Dachi Part 4- _My soul is signed, WOW, as I follow my fighting_

* * *

Friday proved to be very uneventful for Yusuke and Kuwabara which could have been a good thing considering what they had to do that weekend. For Yusuke and Keiko, however, things seemed to be heating up faster than anyone had anticipated. All day Keiko would sneak Yusuke off into a convenient corner or storage closet or wherever else private and most could guess what they were doing. Every moment of free time the two had seemed to be consumed by expressing their feelings for each other in a physical way. In fact, whenever Yusuke would try to approach Kuwabara while changing classes or during breaks Keiko was always there to drag him off somewhere. An unfortunate coincidence if anything. 

When the afternoon finally came around Kuwabara was by himself waiting near the school gate. Yusuke had yet to show up though he'd made an appearance during P.E. minutes earlier. Hiei was most likely being Hiei and was nearby but not quite ready to reveal himself. Kurama probably had something to attend to before he'd be able to walk over and meet the others. So that left Kuwabara to stand and wait.

He sighed to himself feeling listless with nothing to do and no one to talk to. 'Waiting sucks,' he thought to himself. 'I feel like I should have brought a GameGirl or something.' His eyes scanned the school grounds hoping to spot some sign of life so as not to feel so alone. Seeing no sign of anyone he sighed again.

'I understand what's taking Hiei and Kurama so long, but where the hell is Yusuke?' He crossed his arms across his chest. 'Bet he stopped for food or something. The idiot's always hungry!' Kuwabara smirked to himself. That was just like Yusuke to make him wait for the sake of food, but he didn't mind in the least. It was a part of his charm.

His smirk widened as he heard the telltale signs of his best friend and idiot coming over. 'There's the little bastard and I'll bet he's got an ass-load of fo..' His thoughts were cut short when he fully took in his friend's appearance. Yusuke was walking towards him, not a hint of food in sight, and grinning. The only thing more uncanny then the lack of snacks was the addition of a gleeful Keiko, hanging on his arm.

The smirk that the orange haired boy had once worn evaporated as he waved in greeting. Yusuke saluted back to him and Keiko merely looked in his direction.

"Hey Kuwa, sorry I'm late." He didn't appear all that apologetic. Normally that wouldn't have been a big deal, but today it just rubbed Kuwabara the wrong way. Maybe it was the fact that every few moments the pair would burst out into a stream of giggles at some secret joke.

'Maybe it's because suddenly I don't mean anything to him at all.' He blinked at that thought. Why on earth would he think that? 'It's true! He completely ignores me when she's around especially since they started snogging all the time!' He tried his best to restrain these caustic thoughts, but somehow he couldn't find them to be totally untrue. 'He is paying less attention then normal, but wouldn't he be acting the same if it were me in her place?' He reddened slightly as he realized just what being her place would mean. 'No, I told him myself that he wouldn't have any time for me now. I should spend less time whining and more time enjoying his company.' That thought sounded vaguely familiar...

"Kuwabara! Yo!"

Kuwabara blinked his eyes several times to refocus on the pair before him. "Uh, what?"

"I've been calling you for a while now," Yusuke explained smirking.

Kuwabara scratched at the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh. Sorry 'bout that."

Yusuke snorted. "Don't worry 'bout it. Even you daydream, right?"

He was about to reply when he heard something that made his mouth snap shut.

"Probably not about a girl, the fag." He barely heard it, but he knew for a fact that it was said and who said it. Keiko wasn't looking at him and her mouth was hidden in her hand as though she was about to sneeze, but he knew she'd said it. Now he was stuck between replying and keeping his mouth shut. Under normal circumstances he would've immediately said something to either counter the accusation or put the person in their place. However, this wasn't just any person. It was Yusuke's girl friend and an all around beloved person to boot. If he were to speak now it might cause him to see less of his friend then he did now. What's worse is that he doubted anyone would believe him with her being such an upstanding person after all.

The boy was saved the trouble of having to think more when Kurama ran up to the gates looking slightly flushed.

"Hello everyone. Sorry I'm late." As soon as he'd spoken Hiei seemingly popped out of nowhere and planted himself next to the red haired boy. He said nothing but looked at each person or demon present as his greeting.

Once all manner of greetings were exchanged between all those present and the couple had shared their 'farewell snog', the four boys were on their way to demon world. Yusuke had made sure to brief them all on what they'd be up against, it being a pesky group of demon thieves. Koenma had said that they weren't the smartest thieves around, but what they lacked in intelligence they made up for in strength. Therefore he'd needed his best agents on this case. It helped that his spirit detectives weren't a bunch of idiots. Or at least Kurama and Hiei weren't idiots. The other two were just crazy good at fighting.

The toddler god had collected all the intelligence that they'd need for the mission and pinpointed the location of the band of thieves. Once they'd arrived in demon world the mission shouldn't take longer than a few hours. It all depended on how tough the demons were, which with most of them being B and C class, it wouldn't take long. Simply put, the mission should be a piece of cake, but 'shoulds' often turn into 'won'ts' which makes life in general much more difficult.

The group of young men had been trekking through demon world for a good 3 hours. In circles. Just because Koenma had given them the proper directions did not mean that they could follow them. As far as they knew, they'd followed the directions to a T, but found themselves wandering aimlessly. Kurama had even been so wise as to attempt to ask for clarification of said directions, but for some reason every demon seemed to clear out of their path as they walked past.

"Hn," Yusuke snorted. "The fucking cowards," he spat out. "Are we that fucking menacing that an innocent dumbass of a demon won't give us directions?"

"Um, Yusuke-"

Kurama's attempt to interject was broken off by Hiei. "It appears then that these so called 'innocent' demons are not quite the dumbasses you assume they are. If I were them I would've fleed as well whether it be because of our strength or your abundance of stupidity."

"Hiei-" Kurama was interrupted mid-scold by Yusuke.

"Watch it shorty! Stupid or not, there are some innocent demons out there." Hiei raised an eyebrow, obviously skeptical. Yusuke hummed to himself for a moment not quite sure how to back up his side of the argument. Sometimes his mouth just went off and his brain didn't have time to catch up with it. "Well, what about you? You're...good..." Hiei gave him a look and he heard a snicker from behind him that sounded very much like Kuwabara.

He placed his hands behind his head as he thought more, all of them still walking without direction. "Uhhh... what about... Kurama!" Kurama coughed and reminded him that he'd only been reborn as a human and that his youko side was quite vicious. "Ok... uh...I know!" He whipped around to face Hiei who was walking a few feet behind the rest of the group. Yusuke clapped his hands as he said the name. "Yukina." He grinned, sure that victory would be his.

Kurama sighed to himself. He just had to say it. He stepped out of the way anticipating the fight that was about to ensue. Kuwabara also had a feeling that he should step out of the way, but as with Yusuke he often did things before his mind was able to catch up. So it was a surprise to everyone when a few seconds later, instead of Yusuke keeled over grabbing at his stomach, it was Kuwabara.

It took only a second for the shock to wear off and for Yusuke to take the defensive. "What the fuck was that for?" Hiei wouldn't meet his eyes, the only sign of his guilt. Kuwabara meanwhile was curled up on the ground, holding his stomach, small, sharp gasp emitting from his hunched form. "Look, man, I know you've got this whole thing against humans and teamwork and shit, but there'd better be a damned good explanation for this." Yusuke had his hands balled into fist and poised before him in his natural fighting stance. When Hiei still neglected to answer, Yusuke lunged forward and grabbed him by the front of his tunic.

"Yusuke, I don't think-"

"Shut up Kurama. I know he doesn't like Kuwabara, but this is too fucking far." Yusuke's grip tightened. "Kuwa isn't part demon like the rest of us. Not even his pinky finger or something. Hiei fucking knows that."

Hiei snorted at that. "And did it ever occur to you that Kuwabara wasn't my target?" Yusuke growled the grip on Hiei's tunic turning his knuckles white.

It seemed as if one of the two was going to kill the other before long, the tension more than thick. A gasped 'stop' made them pause in leveling glares at one another. Yusuke looked down to see his best friend on all fours and trying to steady his breathing. He let the rumpled fabric in his hands go in favor of assisting his friend. He kneeled down next to Kuwabara, wrapping his arms around the tall boy's upper torso. He failed to notice that the boy was trying to push away from him.

Standing, though still short of breath, Kuwabara managed to finally push his friend away. "Urameshi," he started, taking a deep slow breath. "Hiei's right." Another breath. "He wasn't out to get me, it was you." His breaths, though still a bit short, were finally evening out into their normal rhythm. "Besides, you don't even know what the hell you said to get him so pissed in the first place." He leveled a glare at the black haired boy. "Honestly, you deserved to get hit." With that Kuwabara turned and started walking again without any idea as to where he was going. Kurama looked at Yusuke and Hiei before taking off after Kuwabara.

"I wonder," Hiei began, "How does your 'best friend' feel about you calling him too weak to withstand a hit from me?" It was now Yusuke who wouldn't meet eyes. "As I thought." Hiei followed after Kurama leaving Yusuke to stand by himself, guilt-ridden expression firmly in place.

'Awesome job Urameshi. You just fucked up, big time.'

* * *

After an afternoon's worth of travel the group wasn't any closer to reaching their destination and two of their members weren't speaking to one another. All in all a waste of a day. Night began to fall on demon world leaving any unsuspecting traveler as easy prey for the average bloodthirsty demon. It was almost unanimously decided that they find a place to rest for the night and restart their journey in the morning. Hiei had thought it best to keep going and attack their targets in the night when they least expected it. On the other side of that argument was Kuwabara who'd been up late the whole last week working on a school project and needed his sleep to get his energy up. Yusuke seconded that notion though whether it was because he truly agreed or because the guilt from the afternoon was running over, one couldn't be sure. Kurama had just felt it better to sleep and be energized for their fight now matter how weak their opponents were said to have been. 

Feeling restless and a tad bit impatient Hiei elected himself watch of their 'camp'. While the others slept, he scanned the forest area around them sending a swift glare and wave of energy to any who dared near them.

The next morning, the group awoke and immediately started where the left off. They managed to find a willingly helpful demon in the early hours of the day that clarified a few of the directions they'd been given. After Hiei had unsheathed his sword from the demon's leg they continued on, in the right direction for a change.

It didn't take them more than an hour to reach the hideaway of their targets once they knew for sure where they were going. They stood at the edge of the property, looking around for any guards and, unsurprisingly, finding none. Security for the thieves was nearly non-existent as Kurama pointed out being very skilled with traps and the like. They didn't even have a guard pigeon. Finding no other reasons not to, Yusuke gave them the signal and they walked out onto the large patch of dry, cracked ground that lay before the thieves' hideaway.

Becoming increasingly aggravated with how long the mission was taking, Yusuke charged up his finger and blew a hole in their building to gain the demons' attention. Sure enough a few moments later the demons had all piled out and stood before the spirit detectives looking both pissed and apprehensive. If demon common folk feared the 4 why would the known thieves act any different?

Very quickly, the demon thieves realized that they had little left that they could do besides run or fight, the better of the two being fight. If they were to run it would have probably taken less time for the rekai to take them down and they would have looked like cowards to boot. Resigning himself to his fate, the leader of the thieves gave a shout, signaling that his partners in crime should attack. It wasn't quite a fair fight with 5 demons to the 4 detectives, but there were no worries amongst the rekai.

Each member of each side had taken on one of the other, except for Hiei who took on two of the demons easily dispatching one in mere seconds. Realizing that it took little to nothing to take them out, he focused on being gentler with his next opponent, though not too gentle. Koenma had asked that these demons be captured, alive, for judgment and interrogation. Despite his softer approach it still only took him a few moments more to take care of the second, leaving him greatly dissatisfied.

Kurama had to work a bit at his opponent finding their small bit of knowledge in demon plant care to be a minor setback. The demon wasn't a genius, but he knew enough to raise the fight's difficulty level. But after a few lashings with his rose whip and an unfortunate meeting with a sleep inducing plant, he too had defeated his opponent.

That left Yusuke and Kuwabara to finish up the mission. It was obvious that Yusuke didn't have to struggle to defeat the so-called leader of the thieves, but as all teenage boys were, he was cocky and decided to play with his opponent. Besides his testosterone induced urges to drag out the fight as long as possible, fighting tended to give him time to think. Time to think about how he was going to apologize to his best friend.

Said best friend was having a harder time trying to defeat his opponent. For whatever reason his reflexes weren't as quick as usual and he had taken a minor hit to the face. He was making headway, but it was just taking much longer than normal. Still he managed to deliver the final blow to his demon before Yusuke and he stood above his opponent panting slightly.

Yusuke blocked an attack, his eyes shifting over to where Kuwabara was looking a lot more worse for wear then he'd expected. 'Damn, what's up with him today?", he wondered, worry nipping at the back of his thoughts.

Kuwabara, meanwhile, was thinking the same as he watched Yusuke fight. 'Great. This just proves that I'm not strong enough. Fucking great.' He touched at the mark on his face, wincing. 'If I were darker, he probably wouldn't even notice this. Dammit.'

The demon noticed the lag in attacks from the detective and followed his gaze over to where Kuwabara stood. An evil grin spread across his face. He gathered a bit of his spirit energy and sent it at the orange haired human in the shape of a spear. The mortal barely had time to move as the energy spear flew at him. He heard Yusuke scream out his name in both warning and shock. Kurama gasped and Hiei paused in tying up his two captives to look at what was taking place.

The black haired demon boy glared at the demon in front of him. "I didn't know you could do that," he growled out. "Not that it'll help you any." Over the next few minutes Yusuke delivered a continuous stream of punches, kicks, and jabs, no longer caring about drawing the fight out. He finished the sorry excuse for a demon with a spirit gun blast to both of the demons kneecaps, the demon passing out from the sheer pain. The fool didn't know how much worse it would have been had Koenma not instructed them to keep them alive. His fight complete and the mission officially over, he raced over to his friend.

"Kuwabara!" He grimaced as he noticed the bruise on his face. "Fuck man, you okay?" He placed a hand on his shoulder. As he was busy looking over his friend for any injuries that couldn't be seen so easily he missed the look of pain that flashed over the boy's face.

Kuwabara shrugged it off replying that he was fine. "The thing didn't even nick me, I'm fine." Still Yusuke looked up at him, worried as ever though he hid it behind a look of anger.

"Fuck what Koenma said! I should've killed the bastard!" Yusuke's hands were balled into angry fists.

Kuwabara threw him a snide look. "Right, so you can save the poor little human?"

"Kuwa, I didn't mean-"

"Shut up Urameshi." Yusuke's mouth snapped shut, his words drying up faster than a drop of water in a desert. Kurama tried his best to be inconspicuous and busied himself with securing the other captives. Hiei was openly staring at the two an almost hopeful look in his eyes. He found it terribly amusing when they fought. 'This is much more serious than normal,' he thought. 'Never before has Yusuke insulted the human quite this severely.'

Kurama, who was still trying his best not to interfere, looked up when he heard Yusuke gasp. His eyes widened in mild shock as he took in the scene before him. Kuwabara had taken the shorter boy into his arms and was hugging him tight to his body. Hiei had an eyebrow raised at the strange sight. 'I thought these idiots only hugged when one of them nearly died.'

"I know you didn't mean it, idiot," Kuwabara said into his friend's hair. "Doesn't make you any less of an idiot though." He released Yusuke before he could reply. "I know I'm not as strong as you, or Hiei, or Kurama, but I just can't help but fight. It's a good feeling to fight besides you, my friends, for a greater good. You couldn't keep me away from this feeling for anything."

Yusuke looked at his friend as though actually looking at him for the first time. The boy was standing tall and proud as always, his head turned slightly to the side, eyes looking off at some unknown point in the distance. His hands were jammed into his pockets as they so often were when he spoke like this. Yusuke continued to take in the sight of his friend. His clothes worn from frequent use making the tall individual look rugged and manly. But what lay beneath those clothes? Strong shoulders leading down to a solid and toned frame. Yusuke blinked. 'The hell was that?'

Before he could dwell more on his strange thoughts, Kuwabara spoke again. "Ever since I met you, I wanted to be stronger like you. So I fought you. And when I couldn't beat you, I joined you. I've never regretted that decision. You've turned out to be the best friend a guy could have, even if you are stupid." Yusuke sucked in a breath as blue eyes focused on him. "I never want to leave your side and I won't unless greater powers force me to do so. You're my best friend and I... I want it to stay that way." He gave a shaky smile as he finished his speech.

Yusuke grinned back. "Didn't know you liked me so damned much," he half-teased. Kuwabara nodded, very seriously, back.

Hiei cleared his throat. "If you two idiots are finished, then maybe we can leave this forsaken place. I have other more important things to do." Kurama nodded in agreement.

"I have some school work to finish up and I'm sure my parents are wondering just how long I plan on sleeping over at my friend's house." He smiled bemusedly.

Yusuke turned to Kuwabara. "Ready to go, buddy?"

Kuwabara saluted saying, "Lead the way oh dumbass leader!"

"Hey, I resent that!"

"Like you even know what resent means!"

"I know it means I'm going to fucking kill you when we get back!"

"What it means is that you need to get yourself a fucking dictionary when we get back. And a clue. You couldn't possibly kill me."

"Oh yeah?"

"Like to see you try, bitch!"

Kurama smiled to himself as the two bickering boys grabbed two of the demons and began dragging them off. He snatched up his as well and began to follow the two. "Looks like their friendship could get them through anything," he said to Hiei who walked beside him.

"Hn. Maybe."

* * *

doesn't it all look delightfully hopeful? XD mwahahahaha! mwahaha! i'm honeslty surprised u guys didn't kill me for last chapter. well Kazi-chan's going to, but she wants me to finish reading chapter 3 of 'Beast' first.

thanx to: anonymous(_blushes_ these chapters aren't that good...), JovianShe-Wolf(oh Kurama helps alrigh, but in like part 6), VincentLover001(lol u sound just like Kazi-chan, she actually has plushies tho), AlibisDragon(_bows_ i'm glad u like it, tho it ain't that gr8), Zelia Theb(as u can see the mission didn't bring 'em 2gether, sorri), Kazi-chan(don't kill me dear, or u'll never read the rest), Little Sadako(kyute name), ultimateanime-fans25(w00t u make me feel special), and Saferia(ur too young to be reading anything of mine... _sweatdrops_). and of course thank u to anyone who's been reading but doesn't review. i wish u would, but i can't force u to.

ooo, the author wants a pic of chibi Yusuke and Kuwa bickering. thas all for 2day. _gryns_ next chapter is due out this Sunday, the 17th. adios muchachos!


	5. Part 5

Dachi Part 5- _Pursuing only the dreams that may not come true

* * *

_

The three demons and one human returned to human world in much higher spirits then when they'd left. The bond between Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed to never have weakened and Hiei and Kurama were content to bask in the glow of their friendship.

"What'd you call me bitch?"

"By your true name, tall-ass. Fucktard!"

"Urameshi!"

The two best friends had been arguing nearly non-stop since they'd left demon world. Neither Kurama nor Hiei knew exactly why, but they were going at it nevertheless. They'd only paused in their bickering when Boeton arrived to take their captives. They'd laughed when one of the demons stirred and she beat him with her ore. As soon as she'd taken off, the demons tied to the front of her ore, the two resumed snipping at each other.

Now the group was nearly to the school and the boys had yet to shut up. As the school gates came into view, however, Kuwabara stopped responding to his friend's taunts. There, standing primly outside the school gates was Keiko. She smiled as she took sight of Yusuke and waved. Yusuke paused mid-insult and waved back.

Kurama looked at Hiei. "Well, this is where we get off, isn't it?" The two passed their teammates and then turned in a direction away from them. Kuwabara was seriously contemplating doing the same, but he couldn't conjure up a good enough excuse. 'And Urameshi said he wanted me to join them sometime. Great.'

At the school gate Keiko threw her arms around her boyfriend and gave him a gentle kiss, which he returned quite eagerly. Kuwabara was steadfastly looking in another direction. Any direction, just not at the two lovebirds cooing next to him.

'Wait, that's not fair to Urameshi. He doesn't coo, it's more of a groan. Or the sound he makes when he's got drainage.' Kuwabara smiled at the thought. 'I'm starting to think this lovey-dovey stuff doesn't fit him...'

"Oi baka!" Kuwabara flinched as a fist clocked him in the back of the head.

His own hand flew up to where he'd been hit. "The fu- I mean heck was that for?"

Yusuke half glared at him. "I've been trying to talk to you doofus!"

"Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly scratching at the back of his head.

Yusuke snorted. "Whatever. Just wanted to know if you wanna come with me and Keiko for food." He failed to notice the look his girlfriend sent him. It wasn't exactly friendly.

Kuwabara, on the other hand, caught it and instantly decided that accompanying the couple would be a very bad idea. "Nah. I got stuff to do Urameshi."

"Like what? Trying to kiss your own ass? You can do that later!"

"I don't kiss a- butt, unlike you. But I just got other things to do. Thanks for asking though." Kuwabara nodded to his friend and half-bowed to Keiko and turned to leave.

"Ah, c'mon Kuwa, you know you're hungry. Hell, I know you're hungry cuz your frickin' stomach was growling the whole damn way back here."

"Yusuke-kun," Keiko interjected in a girly tone of voice. "Why don't you let him go on home. I'm pretty sure he does have better things to do then hang out with you." Though she said this to Yusuke, during the last bit her eyes were fixated on Kuwabara.

"But Keiko-"

Kuwabara plastered a large grin to his face. "She's right Urameshi. Like I wanna see your ugly mug for any longer than I have to, right?" He punched Yusuke lightly in the shoulder. "I'll see you around."

"Kuwabara wait." Yusuke had grabbed Kuwabara's right arm, making the boy wince a little. "I..." He looked to where his girlfriend was clinging to his other arm. "Never mind. I'll see your ass later." With that he let his friend on his way. Away from him.

Keiko tugged on his arm. "Come on Yusuke-kun! I'm sure you're hungry and I am too!" Though she was complaining, she had a strangely satisfied smile on her face. Yusuke nodded and began walking in the direction of the shopping district.

* * *

Over the next week, Keiko didn't smile as much, especially when Kuwabara was around. And he was around a good deal more than before. Everyday that week, Yusuke had dragged Kuwabara in from the roof to sit next to him while they ate lunch. Keiko's group of hang-ons had quickly taken note of this and whispered about it since the first day. The whispers increased as the days went on. Yusuke seemed to be oblivious to the fact that he was doing something wrong.

'It is wrong,' Keiko thought, pouting. 'He's my boyfriend so he should be spending time with me.' She was currently walking along, her hand firmly in Yusuke's. But she was not happy, for on the other side of her dear boyfriend was his best friend. The two were talking animatedly about some stupid subject that she cared nothing about.

The fact that the boys were talking didn't bother her much. It was the gleam in Yusuke's eyes that unnerved her. 'He looks so much more interested and involved when he talks to Kuwabara-san.' She bitterly added the honorific to the end of the boy's name. 'I only call him that because it's the proper thing to do and I have no intention of changing that. Even if he has ruined every afternoon this week!' She frowned in frustration.

It was true. Every afternoon that week Kuwabara had been dragged along on their afternoon excursions, whether it was to the noodle shop or to the park. He was always with them. Keiko hadn't minded the first day being as they were just going to the park and Yusuke had looked really desperate to have time with his best friend. She'd agreed only a bit reluctantly that time.

When Tuesday came, however, she was confused to see why the boy had to accompany them again, and to her parents shop no less. She'd only just opened her mouth to protest when Kuwabara had declined. She'd been quite pleased that she wouldn't have to be the one to tell Yusuke, but her joy faded when her boyfriend insisted that he come along. Once again, she agreed.

Wednesday came along and this time she outright said no. But again luck was not on her side as they had a project at school that was due the next day and required a partner. As usual Yusuke and Kuwabara had paired up, therefore the orange haired boy needed to come with them. She'd sighed at that, but decided to bring along her own partner to, in a sorts, make it even.

To the arcade they went Thursday afternoon. She was less than thrilled to go there on a normal basis, but to have the long legged buffoon with them made her even less inclined to go. She'd had hope that the afternoon wouldn't be too terrible with several opportunities to gush over how awesome her boyfriend was and chances to get him to 'come to her rescue'. She tried many different games that she was positive she couldn't defeat on her own and had called for Yusuke's help every time, but much to her dismay, Kuwabara assisted her instead, her boyfriend far too wrapped up in whatever he was playing. Even her attempts to have him win her a stuffed animal were fruitless. Sure she left the arcade with an armload of stuffed toys, but they'd all been because of Kuwabara's efforts and not Yusuke's. The boys had enjoyed their time together much more than she would have liked. The whole afternoon she'd been nearly completely ignored.

Today was Friday and like all the other days Kuwabara was walking with them to a destination, of her choice this time. Keiko decided to take Yusuke somewhere he would've liked as a sort of apology to how she'd been acting all week. In truth she wanted to give him an opportunity to be a gentleman as well as a loving boyfriend.

It was all set up perfectly. Well perfect sans the six-foot nuisance. She'd picked a hamburger restaurant that opened mere days ago and was already becoming a lover's hangout. On top of that, they served vanilla shakes, which were Yusuke's favorite. She knew he couldn't resist and if she just happened to want to share... It was perfect.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, both Yusuke's and Kuwabara's eyes lit up. They loved hamburgers almost as much as they loved fighting.

"Alright! Burgers!" Yusuke grinned toothily at his girlfriend. "This is awesome Keiko!" She blushed at the compliment, trying to look modest.

"I thought you'd like it. Let's go inside." Kuwabara, never one to be impolite, lest it be Yusuke, thanked her as well, but she ignored it.

They all took a seat in a booth near the back of the place. Kuwabara slid in first, followed by Keiko and then Yusuke. She may not have liked the boy very much, but she felt a little distance between the boys would make her presence better known.

Yusuke dug into his back pocket for his wallet. He opened it and a frown came over his face. "What is it Yusuke-kun?", she asked genuinely concerned.

"Eh, I spent all my money at the arcade yesterday. Damn."

Keiko dug into a small pocket on her skirt and counted her own money. It appeared that she only had enough for herself. 'Dammit. And I thought he'd be able to pay for me. There goes my plan.' Both boyfriend and girlfriend were looking less than thrilled at this point.

"Don't worry, idiot. I'll pay for you."

Yusuke's head shot up from where he'd hung it, disappointed. "You serious man?"

Kuwa looked incredulous. "'Course I'm serious. You love hamburgers as much as I do and I should have enough money for you." Yusuke smirked at his friend, then jumped out of the booth and grabbed his hand. He paused long enough to ask Keiko what she wanted before he took off to the ordering counter. She glared at the back of Kuwabara's head. How was it that he kept ruining everything? She'd have preferred it if they could have shared a meal instead of him being a chivalrous bastard and paying for her boyfriend. 'Damn him', she thought angrily.

When the boys returned, her anger at the afternoon increased. She had thought that Kuwabara would purchase separate meals for them. She was enraged to find that he'd only had enough to get two burgers, one large fry and a large shake. She was disappointed to find that her own money had purchased a lonely meal for one. Worse yet, Yusuke had repositioned himself to where he now sat on the other side of Kuwabara, farther away from her then ever. He passed her tray over to her and immediately began to dig into his shared meal.

"Dammit Urameshi, save some fries for me!", Kuwabara grunted out as he tried to snag a few for himself.

"Oh, so now you want to eat, do yah?", Yusuke asked, mouth full. He swallowed and addressed Keiko for what felt like the first time that afternoon. "This idiot over here only had enough to get food for me. The bastard didn't even think about what he was going to eat." Kuwabara stuck out his tongue at him. "Forced him to get this instead." He took a sip on the shake before him. Through the clear straw Keiko could see that it was not, in fact, strawberry, but vanilla.

Trying not to seem to incredibly upset, she took a dainty bite out of her own burger and chewed, being sure to swallow unlike the two in front of her. A few minutes passed in relative silence, besides the random sounds of struggle that came from the two boys next to her as they fought over French fries.

Finally she asked what had been on her mind since they began eating. "Yusuke-kun... Is that a vanilla shake you're drinking?", she inquired as nonchalantly as she could.

Yusuke snatched the cup out of Kuwabara's hand, who had been sipping at it, to take a drink himself. "Yep."

"Oh," she said softly. "I thought you liked strawberry," she said appearing to have her attention focused on her meal.

Kuwabara had now snatched the shake back and was holding it protectively to his chest. Yusuke pouted. "Yeah, I love strawberry." He attempted to reach for the vanilla flavored drink but his friend blocked him by turning towards Keiko.

"Then... why?"

"Cuz," he reached for the cup again. "Kuwa hates strawberry flavored stuff. Says it can't possibly taste as good as the real thing." He gave up on his shake quest and snagged a fry instead, taking Kuwabara's last bit of ketchup along with it. Kuwabara looked over and frowned. He then excused himself to go get more ketchup.

Seeing that now was her chance, she scooted over to Yusuke and started in on him. "Yusuke, why is it that he's come with us every afternoon this week?"

Yusuke blinked. "It's been a week already? Cool."

"Yusuke," she tried again, "Why?"

He shrugged. "He's my best friend and I wanted to spend time with him. I always have a pretty good time with you so I thought he might wanna be there too."

She scowled at his answer. "And what about my enjoyment, Yusuke?"

He looked quite surprised. "You mean, you weren't having a good time too?"

"No, Yusuke, I wasn't," she snapped at him. "In fact, ever since he's been coming along I haven't enjoyed my afternoons!" She softened her tone till it sounded wheedling. "I want to spend time with you Yusuke. Not you and your best friend." She started tracing patterns up and down his arm. "It's not that he isn't a great guy- I'm sure he is- but I want to spend my afternoons with you, and you alone. Is that so much to ask?"

Yusuke was actually contemplating whether it was or not when Kuwabara reappeared. He shoved Yusuke over as he sat down and dumped the ketchup packets on their tray. "She's right Yusuke."

Her eyes lit up. He agreed with her? Maybe he wasn't so dumb after all.

"I do like spending time with you two, but I've kinda felt like a third wheel. You guys are dating after all." He ate a fry.

"But Kuwa-"

He slugged him on the shoulder. "Don't even start. Your girlfriend. You spend time with her. You can be with me some other time, I'm sure." Yusuke looked from his best friend to his girlfriend finding himself defeated. He sighed, but nodded.

Keiko smiled triumphantly and returned to eating her meal. She was still a bit unnerved when she would look up to find the boys interacting so intimately with each other, but she knew that this would be the last she ever saw of it.

As the trio was walking towards their homes that evening, Kuwabara and Yusuke remained oddly silent. Keiko believed this to be a good sign and was fairly content with the way the afternoon turned out. What she failed to noticed was that the boys were playing a game of 'punch you, punch me' in the fading sunlight.

They were nearly at Kuwabara and Shizuru's apartment when Yusuke punched a little too hard at the orange haired boy's right shoulder.

"Shit!", he gritted out through clenched teeth. Yusuke stopped walking to look at his friend.

"You okay man?" Kuwabara nodded his head 'yes' but from the pain he saw on his face in the dying rays of light was clear that he wasn't. Yusuke removed his hand from Keiko's and touched at his friend's shoulder. "Is this where it hurts?", he whispered. Kuwa nodded then winced when the spot was pressed down upon. "When'd this happen?"

"It's nothing really, just a sore muscle...", he began.

"When?"

"During our last mission, okay. But like I said, it's just a sore muscle. I haven't fought in a while and I overworked it." Yusuke looked like he didn't quite believe him. "And we've been playing tennis all week in gym." Yusuke looked like he was thinking it over for a moment before he nodded.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." He started walking again, Kuwabara and Keiko following. "Remember that one day when the tennis ball smacked you in the eye? Damn that was funny!" Kuwabara felt at said eye and muttered something under his breath.

Both friends departed that evening neither knowing what was to come in the next week.

* * *

sorri this was shorter than the other parts, but it just breaks up that way. sux. i kno. if anyone gets the urge to draw ANYTHING _looks at Kazima_ then draw one of the scenes at the burger joint. it's my fav part i think of this entire fic. or any of their afternoon get togethers... blah... c'mon, i want some pics and i kno some of u hav deviantart accounts. pleez massuh?

thanx to: Saferia(good God ur so kyute! _hugs_ and i'm just messin bout u being to young; i read my 1st lemon at 11 ), LaDiDaAnifan(keiko a whore, losing her pimp? had a good laugh w/ Kazi bout that one), JovianShe-Wolf(unfortunately Yusuke's an idiot and there's another two parts after this one), AlibisDragon(goodness, you're too nice to me!), Trans(the whole realistic character thing is a major compliment for me. thanx. and u must luv the kuwabara, he is the BEST XD), andKazi-chan(dun kill me dammit. and dun use my real name in your reviews. dun wanna get stalked.). Also thanx to ppl who read but didn't tell me. I luff u all too.

next chapter is also kinda short and will b out on Wednesday, the 20th. unless i think i'm gonna die b4 then in which case i'll post the rest of this thing early. dun count on the death dearies.


	6. Part 6

Dachi Part 6-_The stark nakedness of this heart full of wounds_

* * *

It was the middle of the next week, when Yusuke arrived at school, that he realized that something was very wrong. He'd become worried the afternoon before when during gym class Kuwabara was absent. The orange haired boy had been at school all day so to skip the last class of the day was odd behavior for him. A few years ago he wouldn't have even thought twice and actually would have been disappointed that he'd not been asked to go along with him. But now, it was downright worrisome.

Thinking back to yesterday he realized that Kuwabara hadn't looked too good the day before. He was much paler than usual and his eyes seemed unfocused. Yusuke had grabbed his hand during lunch to ask him if he was alright and found it to be dripping with sweat that seemed to cover his whole body. It made very much sense that he would skip the last period of the day in retrospect. It would also explain where he was today. What it didn't explain is why he hadn't tried to get in touch with Yusuke. Best friends tell best friends when they're ill.

Yusuke managed to sit through half the school day before he felt his control slip. It was nearly time for lunch when he snatched one of Kuwabara's friends out of the hallway and accosted him.

"Do you know where Kuwabara is?", he asked, glaring at the boy.

"Um... uh... no. Pleasedon'tkillme!"

Yusuke turned his glare down a bit noticing that the boy was uncomfortable. "Well do any of his other friends know where he's at?"

"Uh," he swallowed. "No. Nobody does." Yusuke frowned. "Actually, we thought he'd be with you since you're his best friend and all..."

Yusuke nodded, agreeing with him. "I should know where he's at. Thanks a lot." He let the poor boy go and started down the hallway.

"Wait," he called after the demon. "Next period is about to start, where are you going?"

"To make sure I know where Kuwabara is." He mock saluted and left the building.

Fifteen minutes later, Yusuke found himself standing in front of Kuwabara's apartment door. He quickly debated with himself whether to knock or to just try climbing into his friend's window again. Deciding on knocking he did so several times in rapid succession. Then he waited. Not patiently, but he did wait.

He heard the lock on the door click and the door opened a crack. A sharp brown eye looked out at him before disappearing. The chain lock came off as well and the door swung open revealing Shizuru. She stared at him disinterested as usual, cigarette to her lips.

"The fuck do you want?", she asked flatly. Yusuke failed to notice her tone and asked if his best friend was there. "Yeah, he's here. Now what do you want?"

"I came here to see him." Though he looked calm, his eyes pleaded with her. She sighed heavily but let him in. She led him down the hall to her brother's room, but did not open the door. Yusuke looked to her, but finding neither permission or dismissal in her eyes, he opened the door.

Inside the room was dim, the blinds only halfway open and any other source of light nonexistent. He could see a lump in the bed several feet away that had to be the body of his best friend. He navigated his way through the darkness the only thoughts in his mind dwelling entirely on Kuwabara. When he reached the bedside he knelt down and took in all the features of his best friend.

He looked to be half of the man he was usually, his skin so pale that the veins would probably show through and the sheen of sweat from the day before was firmly in place. His hair was half undone most likely from sleep and sweat. His eyes were clenched shut in his rest, a testament to the pain he must be in. The blankets were shoved up all the way to his neck but his body shivered beneath them. He looked terrible to say the least.

Yusuke reached out a tentative hand and brushed some of the hair out of his friend's face. "Kuwabara," he whispered. He rested his head next to Kuwabara's on the pillow, his hand still brushing at the orange locks.

"He's injured because of you, you know." Yusuke recognized the voice and turned. Sure enough it was Kurama in his school uniform with a bag in his hands. "If you weren't so hell bent on being an idiot, he'd probably be ok." Yusuke stared at the fox demon in disbelief. How was it his fault? What had happened to Kuwabara?

"The other day, on that mission, you just had to get Hiei angry, didn't you? You didn't think for a second that Kuwabara would stand in your way. That hit was meant for you Yusuke." The red haired boy sat down in the chair in front of Kuwabara's desk.

"Kuwabara is only human and wouldn't be able to take too many direct hits like that. You said so yourself. So why did you assume that he was ok after that?" Yusuke had no time to answer as Kurama kept on. "Then later, you let your guard down. I saw you take time to look at Kuwabara and then the demon attacked. I don't know why you didn't just take him out in 5 minutes when you know you could've!" Yusuke would no longer face Kurama, already feeling guilty.

"Worse yet, he really had been injured by that ki blast and you never noticed that he was hurt! In all the times that you've seen him since then you never wondered why he seemed to have a lingering pain in his arm?"

Yusuke's head snapped up. "He said it was muscle strain. He said that he hadn't been in good fighting shape-"

"That's bullshit Yusuke. He's in just as good a shape as all of us. I practice less than he does and I was able to walk away from that fight just fine and in human form." Yusuke turned his head back to his friend the shame bearing increasing weight.

Kurama snorted. "You don't even know what you're doing to him." Yusuke wanted to ask, but found himself unable to talk. "I've been here since yesterday afternoon. Shizuru called to ask me for help. He's very sick. But the moment I arrived I could hear him calling for you. Every few minutes I could hear him moan out your name or grope blindly for you. And just where were you?"

A groan erupted from the bed and the injured boy cracked open his eyes. Kurama's harsh tones appeared to have awoken the boy. He blinked slowly a few times, not yet focusing on anything. He turned his head to the side slightly and his face lifted in a small smile.

"... Yusuke...", he whispered, his voice dry.

"Hey, Kuwa. How ya doin'?"

"... better I think..." Yusuke still had his hand buried in Kuwabara's hair and was stroking his head gently.

"Well you rest up, ok? If you don't I'm gonna kick your ass." He forced a grin as he said this.

"Ok. I'm glad you're here Yusuke... I missed you..." He drifted back into unconsciousness, his features falling slack. Yusuke continued to stroke him.

Kurama rose from the chair and walked over to the bed, feeling at Kuwabara's forehead. He frowned before reaching in his bag. He pulled out a funny looking leaf and laid it on the side of the bed before standing up straight and looking directly at Yusuke. "Get out." Yusuke stared at him bewildered by the harsh tone from such a gentle person. "You heard me. Get. The fuck. Out." The glare Kurama sent him was enough to get him moving towards the door. The fox shut it after he'd exited.

Yusuke slumped against the closed door expelling a breath. 'I've really fucked up this time haven't I? I'm such an idiot for not noticing all this time... And to think he's hurt cuz of one of my numerous screw ups!' He smoothed a hand over his firmly gelled hair. 'He said he missed me... Why miss me? I'm the reason you're in this mess you sentimental idiot.' He pushed away from the door and made his way to the kitchen where Shizuru leaned up against the refrigerator smoking. Her gaze locked firmly on him as he entered. She didn't look particularly pleased that he was here.

"Sit." Yusuke did as he was told. She took a final drag on her cigarette and put it out in an ashtray on the table. She took the seat opposite him and took her time getting comfortable. The boy was suddenly very nervous- but who wouldn't be after the gentlest of their friends just told them off?

Shizuru locked eyes with him and started speaking. "I heard Kurama telling you how much you screwed up." Yusuke nodded slowly. "Good. Well that's a few less things I have to bitch you out about." His eyes widened in both shock and fear. What else had he managed to do wrong? "Don't give me that look. You've fucked up far beyond what you think and trust me if it wasn't for a promise I made to my sick-as-hell brother I would explain everything and more. Not to mention I'd kick your ass. But I promised him, thank God for you." Yusuke said nothing. There Kuwabara was protecting him again even when he was out of commission. He stared down at the table filled with shame for what seemed to be the 50th time that day.

"I've watched Kuwabara over the last few weeks very closely and ever since you started dating that bi- girl- I noticed how unhappy he's been. It's pretty obvious that spending time with you made him happy. It's also pretty obvious that he's been wanting something more from you, but since you probably won't catch on short of me telling you I won't dwell on it." Yusuke nodded dumbly. "What I can and will say is that you have no fucking clue what you're doing. I saw when you brought that girl into my home that she was up to no good. I kept telling myself to poison her juice or something, anything, to keep her from sinking her claws into you." Yusuke opened his mouth to say something. "And don't you dare get angry at me or I'll kick you out of here without another word and put a restraining order on your ass so fast your balls'll fall off!" He snapped his mouth shut.

"That girl may look innocent, but I knew she wasn't too fond of Kuwabara. The bitch has the nerve to look at him like he's some animal even after he got her what she wanted so badly. But I can understand. She's fighting for your attention and you've already given most of it to your male best friend. I'd be pissed too if I was a tightwad little bitch. Thank the Gods I'm not."

"The point is, my dear stupid boy is that you've hurt Kuwabara pretty bad. The idiot won't admit it probably because he inflicted some of the pain on himself, but he's hurt. It's your fault. And you'd better fix it or never come back here." She stood abruptly, walked over to the other side of the table, and grabbed Yusuke by the scruff of his neck. She hefted him out of his chair and shoved him over to the door. She opened the door and pushed him over the threshold.

"Yusuke Urameshi I don't want to see your dumb ass until you figure out your shit. Ask yourself if this girl is worth more than your best friend. When you've figured that out you can come back. Until then, don't bother." She slammed the door in his face and put the locks back in place.

Yusuke stood, solemnly, on the doorstep. He looked lost and bewildered. He was so confused and lost, but this time Kuwabara wasn't there to help him. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be there to help him again.

* * *

Kuwabara didn't show up to school for the rest of the week. Eventually word got around that he was terribly sick. It seemed like everyone was talking about it in the halls and classrooms especially when Yusuke passed by. Even the guys in gym class were talking about it. But they were laughing about it. It only took one day of that before they were influenced to call the young demon 'sir' again.

Keiko meanwhile was overly joyous for the remainder of the week. There was no Kuwabara to take the attention away from her so she had Yusuke all to herself. He was paying so much more attention to her and she was loving every minute of it. They'd even made plans for the weekend and they didn't involve the imbecile. To say that she was excited would be an understatement.

Saturday afternoon found the couple sitting in a darkened theatre watching the latest chick flick. Keiko was loving every minute of it, but Yusuke appeared to be close to committing suicide.

A really sad scene played and sent Keiko into a round of tears, which she tried futilely to hold in. She tugged on Yusuke's shirtsleeve to get his attention but was unable to. She tugged, harder this time, but still with no response. She lifted herself out of her seat just enough to look at Yusuke's face. His eyes were closed and his breathing even. 'He's asleep! I can't believe it! When I need him most he's passed out!' She scowled at him and punched him in the shoulder as hard as she could and whispered his name harshly.

His head lazily turned to face her, his eyes now open. "What?

She looked embarrassed for a moment. "I thought you were asleep," she whispered.

"Well I wasn't. Watch the movie." He gestured vaguely at the film and went back to his former sitting position. Keiko frowned at this action but decided not to push it at that particular moment. That was weird behavior, even for Yusuke.

'I wasn't sleeping. I haven't been sleeping. I'd love to sleep right now.' Yusuke sighed and shifted his head to his hand. 'All I do lately is think. I don't understand what the hell about either, but what Shizuru said just won't leave. On top of that no one will tell me how Kuwa is. Kurama blew me off, Hiei's nowhere to be found and I know enough to not talk to his sis right now. Dammit.'

The movie ended sooner than expected, but considering the weak plot it had to begin with, it shouldn't have been over an hour and half for any reason short of a message from God. Keiko had to nudge her boyfriend to get his attention at which he automatically stood up and started scooting down the isle. She scooted after him as fast as she could. He didn't seem to be paying attention to the fact that he was walking much faster then she was.

She suggested that they eat out to finish of their afternoon. Yusuke shrugged one shoulder but didn't disagree. She reached for his hand feeling comforted by his response. He wasn't upset with her if he was still willing to hold hands. 'Maybe he's just tired.'

Keiko lead them to the one place she could think of that would help her boyfriend perk up. The burger joint they'd visited the week before. Upon arriving, Yusuke hesitated outside the door, jerking her back.

"Yusuke-kun, what's wrong?" She looked up at him imploringly.

"Nothing," he replied and walked in. She lead them over to the same booth they'd chosen before and sat next to him, cuddled up to his shoulder. "Yusuke, would you order for me?" He shrugged. "Do you have enough money today?" He shrugged but pulled out his wallet to check. Like before, he didn't have nearly enough. She sighed softly to herself and took out a handful of cash. It wasn't just any random handful, though. It was exactly what she would need to purchase two burgers, a large fry, and a large shake. She grinned to herself at her craftiness. This way they could for sure have a romantic meal.

"Um... this is all I have, but I'm sure you'll make do." She smiled endearingly at him. He paid her no mind and slid out of the booth to the ordering counter.

About 5 minutes later he returned with a meal. As in one. Keiko stared dejectedly at the burger, fries, and shake in front of her. This was just the standard combo, not what she'd expected. Yusuke, for once, was not eating. He even gave her change back. She stared hopelessly at the side of his face now terribly worried that something was wrong.

"Yusuke-kun?" He grunted. "Is there something wrong?"

He thought about it and almost laughed. Of course there was something wrong. His best friend was terribly sick and he wasn't allowed to see him. In fact he was forbidden from seeing him until he managed to figure out something he couldn't possibly understand. He was miserable. But, he lied anyway and told her he was fine.

"Are you sure, because you've seemed really distant lately. Mostly today, really, but yesterday you didn't seem the same either."

"It's nothing Keiko. Eat your food."

She nibbled on her meal in silence for a minute or two before deciding to try something. "Would you like a French fry?" She'd seen the interaction between the two best friends because of the fries before. This had to get a rise out of him. However, he only shrugged and took one. No playful attempt to steal another. No sound. No nothing.

She dejectedly ate the rest of her meal in silence.

* * *

no pics for this. unless it's keiko DYING. >:3

Thanx to u peeps: bit-Blackmage(i still write funni stuff, but i hav a heart full of angst as well _dramatic head toss_), AlibisDragon(well if it makes u feel better the last part's coming up..), crazy-lil-nae-nae(domo arigato!), Saferia(i'll b the judge of ur kyutness! and enjoi the out-of-town-ness), Trans(thanx for reviewing again and get some sleep), Zelia Theb(i had foreshadowing? _missed it_ so was the outcome really really bad?), JovianShe-Wolf(oh they'll get 2gether alright..._cackles_ in hell!), Kazi-chan(yeah i had to included the tennis thing and stop advertising! >:O), kogas-mate(_laughing_ yes, too bad he didn't _laughs again_), JoannaKuwabara(i'm glad u like it! XD but unfortunately kazima won't update for a while since i'm going to kill her _smiles creepily_)

the final part will be posted _drum roll_ on SATURDAY! the 23rd! wear a bikini.


	7. Part 7

Dachi Part 7- _We will never lose Advancing straight past lying down_

* * *

The next few days weren't any better than that fretful Saturday afternoon. The couple didn't see each other on Sunday, and Monday didn't improve the situation any. Despite their being together the whole day Yusuke seemed so far apart from her. She'd had to call his name countless times to get his attention. She knew it wasn't school that was bothering him because he rarely cared about his academics. The poor girl had failed to notice that Kuwabara had not yet returned to school.

Tuesday morning hadn't proved to be fabulous either. Keiko had shown up at Yusuke's house only to find him gone. She'd walked to school alone and found him up on the roof by himself. When she asked why he'd left without her, he just shrugged. He didn't speak to her the rest of the morning despite countless attempts on her part.

It was now lunch and she'd lost Yusuke again. 'Where could he have gone?', she thought worriedly. 'We always eat lunch together.' She wondered around the school for a good fifteen minutes searching for him, boxed lunches in hand. Again she was drawn to the roof and again there he was, leaning up against the railing.

She approached him slowly, her shoes making clacking sounds on the concrete. "Yusuke-kun I've been looking all over for you," she said cheerily. "You left your lunch this morning and I thought I'd give it to...you..." She trailed off, her cheer fading, as she realized he was ignoring her again.

"Yusuke..." She stood behind him, weaving her hands up around his neck and resting her head on his back. "I've been so worried about you lately. I just don't know what's wrong." She sniffled, though if it were fake or not one couldn't be sure. "But you won't talk to me. How can I help you get over whatever it is if you won't talk?"

Yusuke said nothing. He didn't even move.

She was a little angry now at the lack of response but she held it down, still concerned. "I really am trying to help you, you know. I'd do anything for you." She took a deep breath. "I know I'm not one of your little guy friends or Kuwabara or whatever-"

Yusuke stiffened at that.

"Yusuke?" She backed up a little as he turned around. Her arms fell to her sides and her eyes widened in shock at the look he bore so plainly on his face. He looked lost, scared, and most of all angry. She couldn't be sure at whom he was so angry, but she could tell it was there.

"Do you even have a clue at what's wrong with me?"

Keiko stared at him, shock still covering her face, but she shook her head 'no'.

"Have you ever really understood me? Even now, do you know why I do the things I do?"

She was confused a little by his questions, but answered as truthfully as she could. "It's because you're Yusuke. You act that way because you are you." She smiled softly at him.

He gave out a harsh bark of laughter. "Is that really why because I wonder sometimes... I wonder how I can do such a stupid thing as to hurt the one person I care about more than anything..." He broke of, his voice shaking too much to continue. His hand came to his face, covering his eyes as his head hung.

Keiko looked at him with pity. 'The poor thing thinks he's hurt me. That's sweet of him but so misguided.' She touched him gently on the shoulder. "It's okay Yusuke, you could never hurt me. I'll always love you no matter wha-"

He threw her hand off. "Is that what you think? That I love you!" He held back a laugh. She must be crazy.

She backed away from him. Shocked. Hurt. Angry. "What do you mean Yusuke?"

"I mean that I don't love you. Kuwabara told me about this stuff before and I sure as hell know I don't love you."

Tears pricked at her eyes. "There you go about Kuwabara again!", she spat out. "It's always him isn't it? Even after we've been together this long he's still more important than me!" Tears were flowing down her cheeks now in little rivers.

Yusuke glared at her. "Yes. Him again. He's the only one who's ever taken time to teach me about anything. After everyone's given up on me he's still there willing to lend a hand. I owe him a lot."

"You owe him?", she asked incredulously. "You owe him? All you two have ever done is fight and you owe him? He's an idiot! He can't teach himself much less teach you anything! I could teach you everything and yet you choose him!"

He lunged at her and grabbed her wrist none to gently. "Yes," he spat out quite close to her face. "I choose him. I don't know exactly why I choose him, but I do. I don't care what you say you'll do cuz actions speak louder than words and his actions have been screaming at me since I've known him." He pushed her away and she stumbled. "He's my best friend and truest companion. And what are you?"

She balled up her fist. "I'm your girlfriend Yusuke!", she sobbed out. "Doesn't that mean anything?"

"No, not anymore I don't think."

"But I cared for you! I made you lunch, I took you out places, I kept you company whenever you needed it! I was there for you always and now you're breaking up with me?" Her voice was shaking terribly now and her nose was running from crying so hard.

Suddenly it dawned on Yusuke. Kuwabara. It had always been Kuwabara. All these things she'd mentioned as being what a loving girlfriend would do, his best friend had done. He'd made lunch for him, been there with him, fought next to him. He'd done what she had and much much more. The choice was suddenly so clear to Yusuke. He stepped away from the railing and started to walk away, right past Keiko.

She whirled on him asking-no-- demanding to know where he was going. "To be honest, none of your business. But I do have to thank you. Now my choice is clear." He disappeared through the roof's door and descended the stairs leaving a distraught Keiko by herself on the roof. The door slammed shut signifying the finality of this last argument.

* * *

As soon as Yusuke reached the gates of the school he started running. Everything made sense to him now. Well, not everything, but it seemed so much easier now that he could decide this one thing. As he ran memories attacked his mind in torrents each of them only extra gravel to the cemented decision he had made. 

/Now that he's back in the atmosphere

With drops of jupiter in his hair, hey, hey/

He remembered the dark tournament after Kuwabara had sacrificed himself. But for once he didn't focus on his apparent death, he focused on after. After Kuwabara had jumped up to say that he was perfectly fine. He could vividly remember how alive he'd looked despite the bloody clothing and mussed hair.

/He acts like summer and walks like rain

Reminds me that there's time to change, hey, hey/

A time when he'd snuck up to Kuwabara's apartment window and caught him dancing around his room to one of his favorite songs. He'd even involved Eckiji in his dance, a gentle smile playing on his face.

/Since the return from his stay on the moon

He listens like spring and he talks like june, hey, hey/

The first time he'd come to Kuwabara after his rebirth. He'd told him he was stupid for trying so hard to protect a cat. His friend had replied with such wise words, even then, that made it feel like everyone that was anyone should follow in his footsteps.

/Tell me did you sail across the sun

Did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded

And that heaven is overrated/

A year ago when Kuwabara had asked about how it felt to be dead. Yusuke had explained it all, bluntly like always, that it was nothing like people expected, believing that he'd become disinterested quite quickly. Kuwabara, however, had nodded but said he hoped that his parents were happy nevertheless. He continued by telling what he expected heaven to be like, every last detail. Just hearing it from his lips made death seem a lot more enticing.

/Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star

One without a permanent scar

And did you miss me while you were looking at yourself out there/

He remembered when Kuwabara had been kidnapped and how he'd prayed and prayed that he wouldn't join with Sensui. He'd feared that the kind soul would identify with the other psychics and he would forget all about him and the others. He'd never said it, but he was ecstatic to find Kuwabara tied up and shouting at him, eager to be rescued.

/Now that he's back from that soul vacation

Tracing his way through the constellation, hey, hey/

Kuwabara, laying injured at Genkai's shrine, covered in a sheen of sweat. He'd watched his friend for 2 days straight, waiting for his fever to break and his friend to awaken. When Kuwabara woke he'd grabbed Yusuke's hand and held it to him. "When I passed out I thought you'd died again. My dreams told me you were still kicking and right here by my side."

/He checks out mozart while he does tae-bo

Reminds me that there's time to grow, hey, hey/

Kuwabara training at Genkai's shrine. His movements were quick and fluid, a testament to the strength he possessed. He was about to execute a difficult maneuver when he stopped and very nearly toppled backwards. He righted himself, turned and continued his training in the opposite direction. Yusuke had wondered until he noticed a small group of flowers growing. His friend had narrowly missed them.

/Now that he's back in the atmosphere

I'm afraid that he might think of me as plain ol' jane

Told a story about a man who is too afraid to fly so he never did land/

Kuwabara being beaten severely by several different gangs for a week. Yusuke had watched as he took the beatings without ever retaliating all for the sake of his good friend. He'd felt awed at the display of honor and loyalty presented. It made him feel small compared to the orange haired boy.

/Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet

Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day

And head back to the milky way/

Coming home after the dark tournament Kuwabara had looked so relieved. He stood next to the railing on the boat and gazed out into the sunset. The wind blew at his body sending his clothes into a dance that only they knew. The sun had reflected off his eyes making them appear to glow in the waning light.

/And tell me, did venus blow your mind

Was it everything you wanted to find

And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there/

How disappointed Kuwabara had looked after finally meeting with his favorite band of all time. His hopes that they were as awesome as their music had been dashed, his innocence gone. Yusuke had done only what he could think to do and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He couldn't remember exactly what he'd said that day, but he remembered the smile. A pure smile that told him he'd done what he could and it was right.

/Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken

Your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know you're wrong/

The memories came faster as he ran faster, now only quick flashes in his mind.

Kuwabara defending some elementary school kids. Kuwabara speaking about honor. Kuwabara protecting him from Hiei.

/Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance five-hour phone

Conversation

The best soy latte that you ever had . . . and me/

Kuwabara explaining something to him. Kuwabara teaching him how to cook. Kuwabara gagging at the taste of coffee. Kuwabara hugging him tight after another near-death experience.

/Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet

Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day

And head back toward the milky way/

Finally memories of the last few days rushed him as he climbed the stairs to Kuwabara's apartment two or three at a time.

Kuwabara telling him to date Keiko. Kuwabara giving him advice. Kuwabara injured. Kuwabara playing video games with him. Kuwabara in his bed too sick to move.

He banged on the door frantically praying for it to open. Needing it to open. Shizuru slid the lock out of place and her single eye glared at him. Nevertheless she opened the door fully. Before she could even open her mouth to say something, Yusuke had forced his way in and ran through the apartment to his friend's room. He slammed open the door to find that Kuwabara wasn't there. He fell to his knees, the past few days finally catching up with him. If he couldn't find him then how could he tell him all that he knew. All that he had learned.

A pair of slippered feet appeared within his line of vision. He slowly looked up taking in a toned male frame and locked onto a pair of blue eyes.

"Kuwabara...", he breathed out.

/Tell me did you sail across the sun

Did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded

And that heaven is overrated/

"Hey," Kuwabara spoke softly. Suddenly he was wrapped into a tight embrace, Yusuke having lunged at him. He hugged his dearest friend back and they stood like that for an unmarked amount of time.

"I'm sorry," Yusuke mumbled into Kuwabara's chest. "I should have paid more attention to you, but I didn't and I don't see how you could forgive an uber dumbass like me, but I'm sorry."

Kuwabara smoothed a hand through Yusuke's slightly mussed hair, his run having done away with some of his gel. "I forgive you Yusuke. I forgave you a long time ago."

Yusuke pulled away from their embrace to look at his friend. "You shouldn't have. I don't even have a clue as to how much pain I've put you through, but I know it's been a lot."

"Yusuke..."

He was staring at the ground now, his eyes glazing over with evidence of the remorse he felt. He tried to blink the tears away but to no avail. "I didn't even notice that you'd been calling me Yusuke..."

"Yusuke I-"

Kuwabara's arms were once more filled with the body of his best friend, but this time Yusuke had taken it one step further and kissed his best and dearest friend. Kuwabara's eyes fluttered closed, this simple meeting of lips more than he'd ever thought it could be.

/Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star

One without a permanent scar/

When they parted, both boys were flushed. One of Kuwabara's hands came to his lips as if he could transfer the pleasant feeling to his fingertips. "Yusuke, what about Kei-"

"No. No more of her." Yusuke pulled the taller boy to him and rested his head against his chest. "You told me once that when two people like each other, they need each other. You also said that when two people love each other, they kiss." He looked up into Kuwabara's eyes. "I need you and I think... I think I love you..."

He kissed Kuwabara again, their eyes slipping closed.

/And did you miss me while you were looking at yourself out there/

* * *

Kuwabara was finally able to return to school on Thursday after a day or two or bed rest (Kurama's orders), and he was happy to finally be back in class. He'd been happy since the day started, really. Yusuke had skipped school the day before to keep him company and slept over as well. This morning they'd eaten breakfast together and walked to school together. It really wasn't any different from their normal routine. Or at least it wasn't until Yusuke had reached for his hand. They'd finished their walk to school hand in hand. 

It was before the bell rang for class and Kuwabara was surrounded by his good friends who were all anxious to see how he was doing. Yusuke was standing behind him, hands on the orange haired boy's waist. The three boys that he'd come to know as friends had asked about that but quickly stated that they had no problems with it, they were just curious as to when, where, and how it happened. Kuwabara promised to tell them later.

The classroom was full of chatter and laughter from all sides. Suddenly the noise began to die down as Keiko entered the room and moved towards Yusuke and Kuwabara. It was as though she were carrying a dark cloud along with her as parts of the room seemed to dim as she passed them. She pushed past one of Kuwabara's friends and stopped in front of him.

"You," she spat out. "This is all your fault."

Kuwabara blinked in surprise but quickly understood what she meant. Yusuke had broken up with her two days prior and the entire school was no-doubt talking about it every chance they had. The gossip over the break-up was making it ten-times worse and he felt sorry for the girl in front of him.

"If it hadn't been for you I'd still have him! You just had to be here to ruin my life didn't you?" She was shouting at him, the entire class' attention focused on her. "It was always you that he talked about, you know. I was never good enough! But you were!" Yusuke snaked a protective arm around Kuwabara's waist, his eyes hardening. "This is all your damned fault Kuwabara! Damn you, you idiotic bastard! Damn you!"

She didn't even see it coming. Yusuke had slapped her, hard, across her left cheek. Her face was frozen in shock and as the pain wore in her hands flew up to the side of her face.

Yusuke glared at her. "Don't call him that," he growled out. "This was _never_ Kuwabara's fault. It was yours and it was mine. I'd like to say it was all yours, but Kuwabara wouldn't appreciate me saying that." He ignored the fresh tears that had begun leaking from her eyes. "It's your fault, Keiko-_chan_ for trying to be something that you're not and for never being able to treat me like I wasn't some possession to be won." He turned to face Kuwabara. "And it's my fault," he spoke a little more gently, "for not recognizing that all I needed was right here." He brushed a hand across the orange haired boy's face. "I should have been with you from the start." Kuwabara blushed.

Keiko stared at the two in disbelief, the pain in her cheek no longer important. "You mean you're- you're gay?", she crowed.

Yusuke thought about it for a moment then nodded. "Yeah, I guess I am. I mean I did kiss this big lug." He smiled slightly.

She backed away from them like they were diseased. "Oh that's just sick! I thought you liked him better but not- never like that. Oh my God you're disgusting!" She looked as if she were about to gag. "I knew he was one of those faggots, but I never thought you!"

Kuwabara looked ashamed and wouldn't look at her. Yusuke looked downright pissed.

"I can't believe I kissed you! Gross!" She shuddered at the thought of kissing a homosexual.

"And I can't believe I kissed you," Yusuke spat out. The words stung despite what she'd just said and more tears leaked from her eyes. "I've found Kuwabara to be a much better kisser." He smirked and looked back at him. Kuwabara had now turned beet red.

Keiko was now sobbing quietly. "B-but Yusuke... I can't believe..." Anything else that she said was drowned out by her sobs. Over half of the kids in the classroom were no longer able to look at the pitiful sight she presented. The remaining students bore looks of pity and anger for the girl.

Keiko was still mumbling some mess about being gay and how disgusting it was when Kuwabara got up and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me, you faggot!" She skittered away.

Kuwabara glared at her. "I have been nice to you since we first met. I've never called you anything but the proper name, I've been nothing but gentlemanly to you. I even set you up with my best friend and I'm suddenly some terrible beast?" She was still sobbing. "Keiko. I have lost all respect for you."

The bell rang signaling the start of class and all of the students went to their seats, the show over. When their teacher entered he asked if Keiko was okay to which she replied 'no'.

"And is there any reason as to why Ms. Yukimura ?"

"There are two faggots in the room!" She thrust her finger in Yusuke and Kuwabara's direction.

"Ms. Yukimura!"

"They are! They're making me sick!"

"Ms. Yukimura that is quite enough! I'm sending you to the principal where I'm sure you will be assigned detention."

"But-", she protested weakly.

"The office young lady."

"For God's sake are all of you blind?", she screeched. Receiving no answer she stomped out of the room.

The teacher ran a hand over his bald head. "Now, if we can finally begin class..."

* * *

At lunch that day the two best friends turned boyfriends were standing on the roof, leaning against the railing an arm around each other's waist. 

"So, I guess this makes us boyfriends right?", Yusuke drawled.

Kuwabara blushed but said yes.

"Cool."

They stood in silence, letting the wind blow them gently.

"I have a feeling that boyfriend's suck a lot less than girlfriends." Kuwabara chuckled at his boyfriend's comment.

"If you keep saying things like that I'm sure Shizuru will let you back into the apartment." He grinned.

"She doesn't have a choice. I'm gonna stay with you no matter what." Kuwabara looked away, bright red.

"Yusuke... Did you mean what you said about maybe... Uh... Loving me?"

Yusuke pulled Kuwabara to him. "I did mean it. I've never wanted to be with anyone this badly in my entire life. So, yes, I think I love you." He kissed his cheek. "Hell, I'm pretty sure I _do_ love you."

Kuwabara gave him one of the most beautiful and honest smiles he'd ever seen. "I think I love you too, Yusuke."

They kissed, deeply this time as if it were a way to consummate the words they had just spoken to one another. Their tongues met deepening the kiss impossibly further, their hands roaming across each other's backs. Perfect. This was Perfect.

Below the school, in the courtyard, two girls stood. One with long orange hair and pale skin and the other with dark skin and dark hair.

"'Bout fucking time," the pale one muttered.

"Man, you think they're gonna start fucking?"

"No, you potard. Not before they're married."

"Fine, fine."

"This is awesome."

"Yeah. This is pure bliss."

* * *

um... n3d...er- End. anybodi else feel like the ending was rather anti-climactic? i thought it was a bit too lite and quick, but _shrugs_ watevs. i usually find fault in my fics. 

thanx very much to all of these ppl: Trans(ohhh, Kazima's moving too! dun work too hard! BUY the kuwa keychain, it's kyute), Katzztar(glad you think so, cuz i thot so too :)), VincentLover001(_feels terrible_ gosh, this always happens when ppl compliment me! ... u said 'shank'. _snickers_), MrsLordfluffy (um..yeah keiko does like yusuke i assume, but i'm wondering if u assume this fic was gonna b keikoxyusuke the whole way...), JovianShe-Wolf (lol, sorry i had to put that just to see what you'd do. obviously kuwa lives. _still laughing_), AlibisDragon (yeah, finally. go kurama! i'm hoping this was fast enuf for yah), JoannaKuwabara(sorri, no death of the keiko, but hey they snogged! hiei should apologize...but he's hiei), Kazi(shut up. u Bitch. _laughs_), kogas-mate(i apologize to you as well cuz there wuz no keiko death, kurama would look nice evil, and the one piece is fine ), and Saferia(i'm using my mental powers... not really...u just sound adorable...i'll shut up now..)  
thanx to u kids who didn't review always(or at all) cuz u read anyways: Icefox1(ikno where you live...mwaha), LaDiDaanifan(yep, u still amuse me), Little Sadako(every once in a while i dream of boy-love), ultimateanimefans25(do u like watermelon?), Zelia Theb(u make me feel grown-up! thank u!), bit-Blackmage(i promise i'll write humor again _sighs _slave driver... XD), crazy-lil-nae-nae(i hope u liked this), anonymous(thank u for all ur nice comments, but to be honest you creep the hell out of me. i like it.)  
really, though, thanx to everyone for even reading this damned thing. this is honestly the most feedback i've recieved in the history of ever. i feel really special and really embarassed at the same time. _gives everyone high-class yusukexkuwabara porn_ arigato gozaimasu!

i hav, like, a side-story to this fic rolling around in my head that focuses on the aftermath of this fic from keiko's pov w/ some random kurama, hiei, and shizuru action. if anyone wants me to write that sucker out, drop me a line at thanx errebodi. i luf yous. go read Kazima Kuwabara's fics right now.


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